The national animal of Barbados is the Sabaeus monkey, sometimes called the green monkey. The common dolphinfish is also sometimes considered the national animal. These are Old World monkeys that have golden green fur and can be found in a wide range of wooded habitats. They are important Barbadian symbols.
The green monkey is an important part of the local ecology in Barbados and thus is naturally a very important national symbol.
Many animals, though, have been and are important icons in Barbados and thus some may consider animals like dolphinfish, pelicans or flying fish to be more important national symbols.
Let’s find out more.
What is the national animal of Barbados?
The national animal of Barbados is the green monkey.
These small monkeys are a vital part of Barbadian culture and nature, and so they have featured alongside a few other animals in the country’s national symbols and iconography.
Again, it’s worth noting that you may get a different answer to this question depending on whom you ask.
Some may instead say the national animal is the dolphinfish or the flying fish, both of which are very important to both culture and local economies in Barbados.
Still, others may point to the pelican.
But fish and birds are often distinct in categories when it comes to national symbols—you often have, especially for island nations, a national animal as well as a separate national fish and national bird.
In any case, the green monkey is a small, sexually dimorphic primate found in West Africa.
From Senegal and the Gambia to the Volta River as well as many islands off the northwest coast, like Saint Kitts, Nevis, Saint Martin, and of course Barbados.
So, though they are today such an important national symbol in Barbados, if you traveled back a few centuries you would eventually find that they did not live there to begin with.
They are highly social animals as monkeys often are and are usually seen in groups.
Groups can range enormously in size; they may be as small as only seven individuals but groups as large as 80 have been reported in some areas.
There is a clear social hierarchy in these groups as again is very common with primate social groups.
They communicate both verbally and non-verbally, using distinct calls to warn each other of specific threats like predators.
They can also convey a great deal with their body language.
They are, then, highly intelligent creatures—so let’s look at what makes them important in Barbados.
Why is the green monkey the national animal of Barbados?
There are a few important reasons why the green monkey is the national animal of Barbados.
There’s the simple question of the role that monkeys often play in our collective unconscious.
We can, to even a small extent, witness ourselves in monkeys and so they simply seem to reflect ourselves in that way.
Beyond that, they have simply become very important aspects of Barbadian iconography.
They embody the natural beauty of the country, and though small they are nonetheless haunting and majestic creatures.
They have long, curving tails and their brown fur means they are very good at blending into their environment.
This means that they could often be around without you ever seeing them, which again plays a role in their place in the subconscious.
Ultimately, though, you may again get a different answer to this question depending on whom you ask.
Some may see them as the most important embodiment of the island’s natural beauty.
Others may instead see them as more symbolic, representing national ideals like progress, freedom, and social cohesion.
The place of the green monkey in Barbados may not stretch that far back in time, but this has not made them less important.
Why are they called green monkeys?
The simple answer is that they are called green monkeys because their fur is somewhat green.
You may have trouble seeing bright green in their fur and you may be disappointed if you were expecting a neon green monkey.
But their fur is indeed green-brown, and particularly at a younger age that greenness can seem even more pronounced.
Bright green would obviously be a fairly distinct disadvantage in terms of camouflage at least at certain times of the year, but the green that they do have allows them to blend in very well with their habitats.
Are green monkeys dangerous?
Green monkeys are not dangerous.
They are very small and thus pose no real risk to humans.
They will almost always avoid any contact with humans before they will initiate it, except in rare circumstances like if you’re offering them food.
That said, monkeys, in general, are notoriously mischievous and are known to pelt humans with pine nuts and similar hard objects.
They are also obviously very dextrous, and so their hands are very dangerous if you leave a bag lying around—they’re more than capable of working a zip and rifling through your stuff!
These diminutive primates are very important for a lot of reasons in Barbados, then.
They embody important aspects of national spirit and of course the beauty of the country’s natural landscape, wildlife and ecosystems.
It is completely natural that monkeys should have captured the human imagination in the way that they have, and green monkeys in Barbados are no different—they are a vital link in the country’s natural chain.