Editor's note: The Chinese zodiac, or "shengxiao," consists of 12 animal signs that mark the years. Each animal represents one year in a repeating 12-year cycle, which is calculated based on the ...

These primates are valued as more than security guards. Hindus revere them as a symbol of the monkey deity Hanuman, whose simian army helped rescue Sita, the god Rama's wife, from a demon king ...