DailyDirt: Smart Primates
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
It shouldn’t be too surprising that primates (besides humans) can exhibit some pretty amazing complex behavior. We haven’t quite managed to get enough skilled (real, not virtual) monkeys together with typewriters to reproduce the works of Shakespeare, but maybe they just need iPads and touchscreen keyboard input (because who hasn’t gotten frustrated with a typewriter?). The more we watch our genetic cousins, the more we see how smart they are — and could be. Here are just a few examples of smart monkeys.
- Capuchin monkeys are known to be social and cooperative animals, but it’s still fascinating that when they observe humans acting selfishly, they’ll reject offers of food from these ‘dangerous’ humans. The conclusion that these monkeys avoid selfish people might be a bit simplified, but this study adds to the evidence that monkeys can recognize fairness. [url]
- Chimpanzees know how to eat better than some people — since these primates apparently eat certain foods at optimal times of the day when the nutritional benefit of their food is at its peak. Chimps may not consciously know that they’re eating in a healthy way, but their dietary habits get them to eat various leaves near the end of a day when the sugar content of those leaves are highest. [url]
- Monkeys at New York City’s Central Park Zoo have been observed whispering behind the back of a (human) zoo supervisor. Apparently, these monkeys hate this guy and had previously harassed him with loud screaming, but now they’ve been recorded whispering (and plotting?) behind his back after he leaves. (insert sinister music) [url]
If you’d like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.
Filed Under: animals, behavior, capuchin, chimpanzee, chimps, intelligence, monkeys, primates, smart
Comments on “DailyDirt: Smart Primates”
“Chimps may not consciously know that they’re eating in a healthy way, but their dietary habits get them to eat various leaves near the end of a day when the sugar content of those leaves are highest.”
or they just eat those leaves at the time when they taste nicer !!
That really requires a lot of intelligence !!!
“observed whispering behind the back of a (human) “
monkeys don’t whisper !!!!! it may have looked like they were whispering to each other, but monkeys do not use a spoken language to communicate, did you just see “Ice Age” or something, spoiler, that is not the real world !!!
“when they observe humans acting selfishly, they’ll reject offers of food from these ‘dangerous’ humans. “
these ‘selfish people’ would not be offering food in that case !!!! so how does that work ?
what would have been an indication of intelligence would have been if the two monkeys who “whispered” to each other “planned” something then carried it out in a coordinated fashion, if one had of crouched down behind the man and the other run in front and pushed him over so he tripped over the one behind that would be worthy of comment, it shown planning and communication, but so say ‘they whispered’ is just stupid, one has to then question the ‘intelligence’ of the authors of these total ‘fluff’ ‘news’ ‘reports’ !!!
Re: Re:
Judging from your statements of “fact”, I assume you to be an expert in the field of animal behavioral science. With that in mind, what is it about humans that demonstrates possession of intelligence?
Caffeinated
I think most of us are related to the Cappuccino monkeys.
Re: Caffeinated
More likely Butt Monkeys
holy exclamation points !!!
i was considering countering the previous comment until i saw the surety and determination in those exclamation points.? i am quite certain that any resistance would be foolish in the face of such resolve.? especially given that multiple e-points were consistently used and even emphasized beyond ordinary usage by setting them off with an extra space character !!!
so i’ll be quiet.? i will.
Animals build homes, use tools and are capable of thinking, maybe not in the way that we are used.
It makes me wonder, if we take to the stars one day and leave them here alone, would they start telling fantastic stories of gods that had immense power and could do impossible things someday?
Re: Re:
Maybe, but the ‘legends’ would probably go another way…
‘… and that son, is why we are so very lucky that the ‘humans’ left when they did, a century or so more and they’d have likely blown the planet to piece before we even got started.’