Monkey knows how to wear face mask after seeing humans wear it for last 1.5 years

Monkey see monkey do.

Belmont Lay | August 31, 2021, 03:23 PM

The mask-wearing habit has become so ingrained in humans and the practice so widespread over the past one-and-a-half years that wildlife have also recognised the trend.

One monkey in South Africa was caught on camera mimicking mask-wearing by humans -- by also wearing a mask, albeit unsuccessfully only because the mask was too big for its face.

Happened in South Africa

The classic case of “monkey see, monkey do” was seen in a video put up on Facebook on Aug. 23 by a woman in Durban, a city in eastern South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province.

Her video has been watched some 2.6 million times so far.

Monkey found a mask

The primate was seen approaching a black face mask lying on the road.

It sat down and instinctively applied the mask on its face.

Even though the mask was too big for the monkey and ended up covering its entire face, it did not fall off immediately.

And when it did, the monkey simply put it back on again and pranced around some more.

A voice off-camera said the monkey was a “legend” as it walked around with mask on for a few seconds.

One comment on the video said: “The next thing he will do is go get the vaccine.”

All media via