Primates | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/primates/RSS feed for PrimatesenFri, 28 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000When Fruit Is Scarce, These Monkeys Hunt Animals. The Behavior May Offer Clues About the Origins of Humans' Meat-Eating Habitshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/when-fruit-is-scarce-these-monkeys-hunt-animals-the-behavior-may-offer-clues-about-the-origins-of-humans-meat-eating-habits-180989412/The bearded capuchins of northeastern Brazil typically eat plant-based foods, but they turn to small vertebrates when those sources are limited. Our ancestors may have done the same, eventually allowing predatory behaviors to be more frequently passed on in our lineageFri, 28 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/when-fruit-is-scarce-these-monkeys-hunt-animals-the-behavior-may-offer-clues-about-the-origins-of-humans-meat-eating-habits-180989412/Brazil's First Urban Yellow Fever Outbreak in Nearly a Century May Have Been Fueled by a Surprising Culprithttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/brazils-first-urban-yellow-fever-outbreak-in-nearly-a-century-may-have-been-fueled-by-a-surprising-culprit-180989363/Extremely wet conditions are known to help spread mosquito-borne diseases like yellow fever. But based on computer simulations, researchers suspect that a severe drought may have contributed to the South American country’s recent deadly epidemicWed, 19 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/brazils-first-urban-yellow-fever-outbreak-in-nearly-a-century-may-have-been-fueled-by-a-surprising-culprit-180989363/Do Monkeys Keep Pets? Study Finds Widespread Primate Interactions With Other Animal Species, From Mice to Deerhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/do-monkeys-keep-pets-study-finds-widespread-primate-interactions-with-other-animal-species-from-mice-to-deer-180989356/This social behavior might reveal the evolutionary roots of traits that underlie pet-keeping in humans, scientists say, from caregiving to tolerance and curiosity. But it's not the same as a person keeping a cat or a dogTue, 18 Aug 2026 20:22:41 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/do-monkeys-keep-pets-study-finds-widespread-primate-interactions-with-other-animal-species-from-mice-to-deer-180989356/