This thematic stamp exhibition commemorates the Zodiac Year of the Monkey. On display are 230 stamps from around the world - the stamps depict different species of monkeys, monkeys featured in myths, movies and art, as well as famous people born under the monkey zodiac sign.

Learn about Old World Monkeys or Macaques that live in the tropical forests of the Indian sub-continent and Southeast Asia; baboons, mangabeys and mandrills that inhibit the sub-Saharan Guinea - Congolian forests in Africa. Find out interesting facts about New World monkeys found in Mexico and central South America, and ape primates such as the gorilla, orang-utan and chimpanzee.

Old World Monkeys

Red Colobus - like other colobus, has an unusually small head, a long back, and a round belly. The red colobus is listed as one of Africa's ten most endangered monkeys. All colobus are easy targets for hunters because they are noisy and slow.

Mandrill - Mandrills are the largest of all monkeys and are found in the dense tropical forests of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Congo. The mandrills are mostly dark brown, but the mandrill's dog-like muzzles are brightly coloured. Mandrills travel in small family groups, feeding mainly on fresh leaves, grass, seeds, nuts, insects, birds and small mammals.

New World Monkeys

Pygmy Marmoset - One of the world's tiniest species of primates classified under New World Monkeys. The adult weighs a little more than three ounces, and measures five inches long with an eight-inch tail. They live in the dense rain forests of the upper Amazon Basin in Brazil, Colombia, Equador, Peru and northern Bolivia.

Emperor Tamarin - They have long moustaches like the German Emperor. Emperor Tamarins were hunted because they were wrongly thought to carry diseases, such as yellow fever and malaria. They live in the great tropical South American forests.

Monkey characters in myths, fables and movies:

The Monkey God, (Sun Wu Kong) from the legend "Journey to the West"- The legend tells of a cheeky monkey, born from a stone egg impregnated by the sky. Sun Wu Kong was extremely smart and capable. He learnt magic tricks and gongfu from a master Taoist. He was able to transform himself into seventy-two different images from the size of a small fly up to a massive giant; travel 180,000 miles in a single somersault. He had a magic rod weapon that he hid it behind his ear. It was the size of a toothpick, but when called to battle it turned into a battle staff.

Monkey from the fable "The Legend of Four Best Friends" - In this fable, there were four noble beings - a bird, a monkey, a rabbit, and an elephant. They drank at the same spring and became friends. They decided that it would be proper to show respect to the eldest among them. To determine their respective ages, each one recalled the height of a nearby nyagrota tree as each had first seen it.
The four showed each other respect accordingly - The monkey stood on the elephant's back, the rabbit sat on the shoulders of the monkey, and the bird perched on the head of the rabbit. Then the bird said, "From now on, we must live in harmony regardless of our size and strength." Till today, these animals are depicted in Buddhist art as a portrait of harmony.

Special feature on the monkey zodiac sign
Find out the common characteristics, weaknesses and success factors of people born under the monkey zodiac sign, and about famous people born under the sign.

Pope John Paul II (1920) - Karol Josef Woltyla was born in Wadowice, Poland and took the name John Paul II when he succeeded John Paul I as pope in 1978. He became the first non-Italian pope in over 450 years. He has issued more significant encyclicals and visited more nations than any other pope.

Mahatma Gandhi (1944) - He was a prominent leader of Indian nationalism and prophet of non-violence in the 20th century. Trained as a lawyer, he fought for legal rights for Indians. Through his campaign, India achieved dominion status in 1947, but it was a disappointment to Ghandi when the country was partitioned into India and Pakistan, for he had long worked for Hindu-Muslim unity. In September 1947 he ended rioting in Calcutta by fasting. In 1948 he was shot dead by a young Hindu fanatic. Gandhi won the affection and loyalty of millions and became known to all as the Mahatma, or Great Soul.