The Long Island Game Farm is home to a variety of monkey species, all of which can be classified as new world monkeys.
New World monkeys are native to tropical forest environments of Southern Mexico, Central, and South America.
This group includes the Squirrel, Spider, Vervet, and Capuchin, all of which can be found at the Game Farm. Some of them are as large as medium-sized dogs, but most are smaller.
They range in weight from 1.5 to 33 pounds. Social group size vary from that of the Squirrel monkey, which lives in troops of up to 500 individuals, to that of the night monkey, which lives in small family groups.
Monkeys are very enterprising when it comes to obtaining food. For instance, Capuchin monkeys venture out of the trees to hunt crabs, clams, and other small animals in mangrove swamps. They also hunt large insects and collect birds' eggs in the trees in addition to eating leaves and fruit. Capuchins can be easily trained and have recently served as aids for quadriplegics. Female Vervet monkeys have a more active leading role than males.
