Clever Monkeys debuts on Nature on Nov. 10, but monkeys exhibiting unusual and clever behaviors have been popular media fodder for years. The stories usually fit a few topics:
* Monkeys Out of Control (see also Predatory Monkeys)
* Monkeys Take Drugs (see also Monkeys and Medicine)
* Monkeys Work for Humans (see also Monkeys and Language)
Read more…
Monkeys Out of Control
The craziest story of the bunch pertains to the menace that large monkey populations have become in the Delhi region of India:
Monkeys kill the Deputy Mayor of New Delhi. It’s a sad story, but one of the more extreme examples. Rhesus macaques have plagued the region since around 2001, and the problem seems to be getting worse. (article from BBC news, 2007)
“SS Bajwa suffered serious head injuries when he fell from the first-floor terrace of his home on Saturday morning trying to fight off the monkeys.”
Monkeys damage crops on farms in Himachal Pradesh, India. (article from MSNBC, 2008; article from Sahara Samay, 2007)
“Facing large-scale loss of their produce from wild animals mainly monkeys, small farmers and horticulturists of Himachal Pradesh today held a state-wide agitation demanding lifting of ban on export of simians.”
In Singapore, crackdowns on thieving, mischievous monkeys:
(article from Reuters, 2007)
“‘They enter the house, open cupboards, steal food and soil the premises’. Picnics are spoiled and snacks are snatched from bags while golfers tee off. Even the British Club has armed staff with brooms to shoo monkeys away from the gourmet buffet.”
Vervet monkeys make Kenyan farmers’ lives hell; harass women: (article from the BBC, 2007; analysis at Scienceblogs, 2007)
“When we come to chase the monkeys away, we are dressed in trousers and hats, so that we look like men,” said Nachu resident Lucy Njeri. “But the monkeys can tell the difference and they don’t run away from us and point at our breasts. They just ignore us and continue to steal the crops.”
Monkeys in Aomori, Japan, cause havoc on farms and to residents:
The Japanese macaque, a protected species otherwise known as the snow monkey, gets out of control. (story from Japan Times, 2007)
“”In the worst year, all the fields were damaged,” a 79-year-old farmer lamented. “The monkeys look cute but are a menace.”
A 59-year-old local resident said: “Day and night, the monkeys jump on the roof of my house and make loud noises. We simply cannot live like this.”
Last August, four monkeys swarmed a second-grader and injured her.”
Monkeys Take Drugs:
Monkeys invade a 188-year-old opium factory in Ghazipur, India (article from BBC News):
“Monkeys still have the run of the factory, eating opium waste and dozing all day.
“They have become addicted to opium. Most of the time we have to drag dozing monkeys away from this place,” a worker says.”
A certain strain of millipede incites indulgence in monkeys in Florida’s Monkey Jungle. Read about it (article from the Miami Herald)
“The millipedes’ secretions induce an excited state in the monkeys that lasts up to 30 minutes, kind of like how cats react to catnip.
”They bite the millipedes, then reach behind their back and rub it on their fur,” said Evans, who added that the behavior is natural but rarely seen. “Their eyes glaze over and they’re completely focused on what they’re doing.””
Monkeys Work for Humans
A monkey named Mani shepherds goats in Kerala, India:
(VIDEO of monkey shepherd, also article, 2008)
“Manager Greenland Farmhouse, P J Martin says, “I got this monkey three years ago, bleeding all over. I applied medicine and left it with the goats. Afterwards he was always with the goats. He does all works as a man does it.” Three-year-old Mani effortlessly shepherds the goats through the coffee plantations. He even eats his food sitting on top of a goat.”
Malaysians Teach Monkeys to Pick Coconuts
(article from Bernama News, 2008)
“There are three phases in the training of the monkeys to perform the coconut-plucking job.
The first phase is to teach the monkeys on the thrills in plucking and to make the ape enjoy doing the work.
The second phase involves on making the monkey to learn to know instructions issued by its master via the hand signals and sounds made.
The final stage is when the monkey is made to go up and down the coconut tree as where and when told to do so by its master.”
Monkey waits tables in a bar in Japan:
Limited to 2 hours per day, the monkeys learned their ‘jobs’ by watching their human owners. (article from The Daily Mail UK, 2008)
“Some clients, like retiree Miho Takikkawa, say Yat-chan appears to understand their exact orders.
‘We called out for more beer just then and it brought us some beer,’ she said. ‘It’s amazing how it seems to understand human words.’”
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For more monkey news, see Primate News Aggregators: Monkeywire, Monkey Day News, Monkeywatch, and Monkeyology.
