Curious George is depicted as a monkey in the stories and media, but his exact species is not officially specified by the original creators. Over the years, fans and commentators have debated whether he is a Barbary macaque (an Old World monkey that lacks a visible tail) or another primate such as a chimpanzee (an ape), with some suggesting he represents a fictional or undisclosed primate type. In short: he’s described as a monkey, but the precise species is not definitively stated in the canonical materials.