|
Hidden Code in Monkey Chit Chat
""PYOW pyow hack hack hack". Or, to translate from monkey-speak: "C'mon. We're outta here." That's how male putty-nosed monkeys tell their group it's time to move on.
Kate Arnold of the University of St Andrews, UK, noticed the call during experiments in Nigeria to test how wild groups of these tree-dwelling monkeys (Cerceopithecus nictitans) respond to recordings of noises of predatory leopards and eagles. The dominant males in groups of 15 to 25 females will make "pyow" sounds when leopards are prowling nearby, and "hack" sounds when eagles are alarmingly close.
The males would also utter a mixture of the terms no matter which of the two animal recordings they heard. Arnold began to notice a distinct "Pyow pyow hack hack hack" motif thrown in. Listen to the calls here (.wav format, 3MB).
The phrase was uttered more often after Arnold and her colleague Klaus Zumberbühler replayed the leopard recording. Arnold says the groups are more likely to move away to escape a prowling leopard, but stay still and out of sight if an eagle is overhead. Crucially, males also issued the phrase when no predators threatened, to prompt foraging in the mornings and find somewhere to sleep in the late evenings (Nature, vol 441, p 303).
"We heard it whenever the male wanted the group to move," says Arnold."
http://www.newscientist.com/article...y-chitchat.html
___________________
"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people."
|
