Written by Today’s uncommon creature comes to us from the southeast Asian island of Borneo and is called a proboscis monkey (suggested by Guest Doodlewasher Sharon Mann). You can literally spot a male version of this monkey a mile away because of its unusually large bulbous nose. Apparently this massive fleshy schnoz is there so they can attract a mate. But the attraction isn’t what you might immediately think. The females aren’t so much attracted to the size of the appendage as it’s ability to produce a thrillingly loud and impressive sound. The bigger the trumpet, the more likely the male is to woo a female and scare off her competing suitors.
Monogamy, however, is not the goal as a group of proboscis is called a harem and consists of one dominant male and two to seven females and their offspring. The remaining males, with presumably smaller noses, form a group of their own. These monkeys are very adept and creative swimmers, hitting the water on their bellies and swimming 65 feet (20 meters) under water. When they are threatened, they’ll taking a spectacular dive into the water to escape.
Unfortunately, like many of this unusual creatures, this species is classified as endangered. Though an odd face, they’re generally good natured with each other, but due to extensive loss of vegetation, there are only about 1,000 of them left. The government of Borneo has instituted strict penalties for those who kill them in an effort to protect what’s left of the dwindling population. If you have a suggestion for the next uncommon creature, please shout it out in the comments!
About the Doodlewash
M. Graham watercolors: Burnt Sienna, Ultramarine Blue, Pyrrol Red, Dioxazine Purple, Quinacridone Gold, Neutral Tint and Titanium White Gouache. Sennelier L’Aquarelle: Opera Rose. Lamy Safari Al Star pen with Platinum Carbon sepia ink in a 5″ x 8″ 140 lb. (300 gsm) Pentalic Aqua Journal
Want to monkey around?
just blow with your nose
to create a sound
that tingles the toes
However, it’s said
if a monkey you bed
your kids will be hairy
swing from the trees
blowing their noses
hanging by their knees
Lol… That’s awesome!! Excellent pome to accompany this guy!
Oh, he’s so cute and charming! I thought he was blowing a raspberry for a second there, like a proper cheeky monkey… but no, it’s the conk (and what a conk!). This is another new one on me, Charlie – how wonderfully bizarre!
Is a white tiger uncommon enough? They’re so stunning though!
Thanks Jacob!! Yeah…this is a rare and weird one…wasn’t sure about this doodlewash. Struggled with him since he’s too much like a human face and I don’t do those. lol glad you liked it!! 😃 And I thought about a white tiger actually… but I’ll probably wait until I get through more of the really weird ones! Haha
I think he turned out wonderfully. And I’ll look forward to a white tiger if you should choose to do one… I suppose you could otherwise look at the hybrids such as the liger as they could be seen as a little more strange!
Hehe…I think I could probably do a whole month of weird hybrids. Zonkeys included, of course!
Yes! We love the zonkey!
Charlie, yay! thanks for taking my suggestion. Your Proboscis is adorably handsome!
Thanks so much Sharon!! 💕😃 This one was super challenging. Don’t think I did him justice, but it was good practice! Hehe
Great choice, I always think they look sad in documentaries I have seen…..only 1000 ish, that is shocking.
Thanks Rebecca! 😃💕 They do look a bit sad…perhaps they know there numbers are dwindling. Poor things. They’re super interesting…hope they stick around longer!
What a cool “music instrument” this monkey has. Awesome guy!
Hehe…yeah it’s pretty unique! 😉 Thanks so much Kathrin!! 😃
Oh that nose! Im A little turned on. Lol! Great job Charlie o!!
Hahaha!!! That’s awesome!! Thanks for the smile this morning Jodi!! 😂😂❤️
😝🍷
another great hairstyle! (K)
Yeah….I did the animals with a cool hairdo! Lol Thanks Kerfe! 😉
:)))) hehe so sweet, gorgeous colors and love the haircut! 💜
Thanks Laura! 💜😃Hehe…this was a tough one to do. Every time the animal looks closer to a human I have trouble. 😊Don’t know what that means! Lol
You’ll rock humans when you’re ready to tackle them, Charlie. You have the face thing – it’ll be fine! It’s pretty cool you can do hard and soft lines, bro!
You’re too sweet! 💜One day I’m going to actually give it a try! 😊Hehe
:)))
in elementary school this monkey showed in a class project somehow. I remember my friend pinching the end of his nose and making this kissy face. I was in uncontrollable laughter and was asked to leave the class until I could control myself which took several hours. I still get a laugh when I see this monkey only because of that face he made.
I found out while I was in high school, the teacher asked me to leave because my laughing was making her laugh in front of the classroom.
haha!! I love that story… and so happy I caught it… for some reason your comment went to my Spam folder. Guess kissy face is considered questionable!! lol That’s awesome… I can totally picture it and it makes me laugh. Thanks Mike! And sorry for the delay on my response!!
Great work, as always. with the image.The fur and the lighting are outstanding. But…oy…may I say that is an ugly monkey?
Yes you may…hehe…this one isn’t going to be as popular. Poor guy….he’s not super attractive, but definitely uncommon!! 😉hehe
I love this guy. Whenever I have seen pictures of them I have found them fascinating and so unique. I’m sadden that all these lovely unique characters are on the endangered list. I’d like to say as the human race we can do so much better but this isn’t the forum for that so I will continue to just enjoy your wonderful and creative entries each day Charlie.
Thanks so much Cathe!! 😃💕 These guys are really interesting creatures. And feel to say the human race can do better…we can and should!! It’s sad that so many of these interesting creatures are fading from our world.
That is one huge conk indeed. Impressive in an odd way. Well captured Charlie. 🙂
Lol! Thanks so much Susan! 💕😃 Yeah… Such an odd creature. It was difficult to keep it weird and not try to give him a facelift while I sketched. 😊
I bet it was tempting to give him a face lift. LOL
I’ve always thought proboscis monkeys were seriously ugly (I always called them Jimmy Durante monkeys) but you managed to make one look cute enough! 😀 <3
Thanks Teresa! 😃💕Yeah…they’re definitely rocking a Jimmy Durante nose and look so odd. I really struggled with this one… Not sure why… I do think it was difficult to avoid giving it plastic surgery in the sketching though. 😊
LOL!
Gee, I’ve even heard of this one. You did a great job painting it.
Thanks Teri! 😃💕 Yeah I’d actually heard of this one too… but they’re sort of challenging to capture! Hehe
Awesome painting! I learned about them for my kid’s class project once.
Their noses sure are massive.
Thanks Catherine! 😃💕 They’re so odd looking, that once you see one you never forget. Hehe…as uncommon as they are, it’s cool how many people actually have seen or heard of this one!
How fun! Although I could do without the loud honking.. I can’t imagine all that noise! I wonder how the in-breeding affects its genetic pool with their harem..
I can’t imagine the in-breeding making them look any weirder… or perhaps that’s part of the reason they look so odd to begin with! lol
Great rendering of a rather handsome fella. OK, maybe not so handsome but worthy of respect. And still, a wonderful painting.
Awww thanks Sharon… This was such a weird looking guy, but figured he deserved to be doodlewashed! hehe
I suspect this one came out better in the wash!
Hehe…thanks! I hope it did! 😉
Beautiful painting, your attention to detail is fantastic. Maybe your art will bring more attention to the plight of these poor creatures and help keep them around. Fingers crossed.
Thanks Haunani! 😃💕 Here’s hoping! There’s unfortunately so many of these creatures I could do a year long project. Fingers crossed for sure!
I have some questions, is the drawing illustration of the proboscis monkey above of a male or female? Also, if that is a drawing of a male proboscis, why do some male proboscis have a line going down the middle of the nose while some male proboscis don’t? I’m really interested, please answer my questions?
I’m no expert in monkeys…I just like to draw animals! 😊This is a male one because the nose is larger. No idea what the line means.
Ok, thanks, lol. Great drawing by the way, did you draw this drawing from a picture or from a real proboscis monkey?
This was from photo references, these are all just my practice sketches as I learn what the heck I’m doing! Hehe
I’m sure your Proboscis Monkey has the largest harem around (I almost forgot to add ‘monkey’ to that sentence, which would probably have given you pause).
Yeah, that would have totally given me pause… and a huge giggle… I now wish you would have omitted that bit. LOL 😃💕
Wonderful facts and painting!
Thanks so much, Sharon! 😃💕