Dear Emma Roe,
Greetings!
Thanks for reaching out to this community.
Based on your description, I understand your query about the lore behind the Teams monkey.
Upon search on my end, as per your need to learn more about the emojis and their creator/designer, you may kindly refer to the Now in public preview: Fluent Emojis - Microsoft Community Hub and contact information at GitHub - microsoft/fluentui-emoji: A collection of familiar, friendly, and modern emoji from Microsoft.
Thank you in advance for your understanding! Your patience and cooperation will be greatly appreciated. I hope all the best!