List of fictional primates in literature

This list of fictional primates in literature is a subsidiary to the articles of list of fictional primates and list of fictional animals. The list is restricted to notable non-human primate characters that appear in notable works of literature.

Name Species Origin and Author Notes
Amy Gorilla Congo by Michael Crichton A protagonist, Amy is a mountain gorilla being studied by Dr. Peter Elliot. Her normal behavior begins to start going bad when she has nightmares about the Lost City of Zinj, located in the middle of the Congo and guarded by her gorilla-chimpanzee hybrid relatives.
Babiole Monkey Babiole by Madame d'Aulnoy A human princess who is transformed into a monkey by a wicked fairy.
Baavian Baboon Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling A baboon has a throne and a statue in "How the Leopard Got His Spots".
Bill Williamson Sasquatch State of Jefferson Stories by Harry Turtledove A Sasquatch governor of the State of Jefferson during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He had previously been part of the Jefferson State Senate before the early 1970s and before entering politics, he had severed as a lawyer and a realtor beforehand. He was the state's second sasquatch governor (the first being Charlie "Bigfoot" Lewis). He was married to another sasquatch, Louise, and has a daughter named Nicole. During his time as governor, Williamson did his best to insure that the state of Jefferson stayed open and diverse.
Curious George Monkey Curious George by Margret Rey and H. A. Rey Identified in the text as a monkey, his illustration does not correspond to a specific non-fictional species of monkey and features the characteristics of an ape, especially a chimpanzee, or a gorilla. For example, he lacks a tail (though some species of monkey, including the Barbary macaque, have little or no tail).
Fiben Bolger Chimpanzee The Uplift War by David Brin A Neo-Chimpanzee
Francine Frensky Monkey Arthur's Valentine by Marc Brown A tomboy who loves sports, drumming, and singing. She is 8 years old, and she is the best player on her team in just about every sport they play, rivaled only by the Brain at soccer and basketball.
Hanuman Vanara Ramayana, The by R. K. Narayan Ally to Rama in the classic Indian tale.
Ishmael Gorilla Ishmael, The Story of B, and My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn A philosopher who was captured from the wild when young and sent to the zoo. After the zoo sold him to a menagerie, an old Jewish man bought him and could communicate with him through his mind. Ishmael teaches captivity to the unnamed narrator.
Kala Mangani Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan's adoptive mother. Manganis are a fictional species of apes.
Kerchak Mangani Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs Leader of the manganis.
The Librarian Orangutan Discworld by Terry Pratchett The Librarian appeared in the first novel of the series, The Colour of Magic, and was transformed into an orang-utan in The Light Fantastic as the Octavo fired a beam of magic upwards. On discovering that being an orang-utan had certain advantages for a librarian - he can climb up to high shelves, for example - he refused to be transformed back into a human and has remained an orang-utan ever since. The other wizards have gradually become used to the situation, to the extent that, from Night Watch: ‘if someone ever reported that there was an orang-utan in the Library, the wizards would probably go and ask the Librarian if he'd seen it.’
Lucy Human-bonobo hybrid Lucy by Laurence Gonzales Brought back from a researcher's camp in war-torn Congo. The novel explores what is human and tolerance vs discrimination.
Major Monkey Monkey Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. the Mecha Monkeys from Mars The main antagonist of the book. He is a Martian monkey who hates living on Mars because it is a barren planet. Most of his time is spent creating evil robots, which are then used later on in the book to capture the robot and attempt to take over planet Earth.
Mr. Nilsson Monkey Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren The pet of the titular character.
Nkima Monkey Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs A companion and sidekick to Tarzan, sometimes providing comic relief and at other times conveying messages between Tarzan and his allies, and occasionally leading Tarzan's Waziri warriors and other animal friends to the ape-man's rescue.
Olongo Featherstone-Haugh Gorilla The Probability Broach by L. Neil Smith A gorilla that served as the Vice President of the North American Confederacy under President Jennifer Smythe on the Gallatinist Party. He elected as the 27th President of the NAC and serves from 1992 until 2000.
Ozymandias Monkey His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman A golden monkey with long fur, who is not named in the books, but was given the name "Ozymandias" in the radio adaptation. A few times throughout the books, the golden monkey is shown to be capable of going much further from Mrs. Coulter than other people's dæmons,
Rotpeter[1] Chimpanzee or Western gorilla "A Report to an Academy" by Franz Kafka West African ape who is transported to Europe by hunters. He later begins to imitate the humans and learns their behaviour to escape being imprisoned in a zoo. In the end, he accomplishes his goal and is no longer able to describe his experience as an ape.
Shift Ape The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis The antagonist of The Last Battle, which is the last book of the series. Shift is an ape who, like many animals in Lewis' work, can talk.
Sun Wukong Monkey Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en The Monkey King from classic Chinese literature.
Unnamed Orangutan "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allan Poe The true murderer of Madame L'Espanaye and her daughter, as deduced by C. Auguste Dupin.
Unnamed Monkey Falling Up by Shel Silverstein A monkey that ate green bananas and almost died due to being unable to digest them. He is featured in a poem in the book called "The Monkey".
Unnamed White Ape Princess Ape "Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family" by H. P. Lovecraft The horror descended from the marriage and children of Sir Wade Jermyn and the White Ape Princess.
Zéphir Monkey Babar the Elephant Good friend of Babar.[2]
Zoey Orangutan Zoey & Me by Mallory Lewis A baby orangutan who was brought into the Miles' family after being rejected by her mother. Zoey is very playful and curious, which is the biggest reason she gets into tight, and sometimes fatal, situations.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Harel, Naama (2020), "A Transspecies' Report to an Academy", Kafka's Zoopoetics, Beyond the Human-Animal Barrier, University of Michigan Press, pp. 49–78, doi:10.3998/mpub.11325807.6, ISBN 978-0-472-13179-2, retrieved 2024-04-01
  2. ^ "Jean de Brunhoff".
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