Monkeywire

He actually cites orangs as an exception, while generally lumping all primates together. That said, 21st century studies have shown orangs (esp. Sumatran) are more social than previously thought, living in loose communities...

Yes, of course. Sorry, I should have been clear that this was a key research question *at the time.*

4/ The question remains as to why publisher Routledge thought it was a good idea to reprint this in 1981 without any significant effort to correct the record.

Photo (by F.W. Bond) of "a female baboon, with her dead baby in her arms, being groomed by her overlord" as it appears in Zuckerman’s book. Zuckerman sees grooming as an “innate response to fur” and connected to sexuality, but never explains why an "overlord" would groom a subordinate.

3/ So here’s a guy who claims primates live in groups solely so they (males) can have lots of sex, that female monkeys are “prostitutes” — all the while accusing OTHER animal watchers of anthropomorphism.

2/ Why do primates, unlike other animals, congregate in social groups? Zuckerman argued that it’s due to the (male) sex drive. No significant nonsexual social bonds exist, he claimed. Even the mother-infant bond is written off as a "response to fur."

Cover photo of the second edition of _The Social Life of Monkeys and Apes_ by Solly Zuckerman (1981, Routledge). It is a greenish-blue hardback with text-only.

1/ Considered groundbreaking when first published, this book was fun to read only because it gets so much so wrong.

Zuckerman's 1932 book promoted myths about primates as highly aggressive beasts ruled by male sexuality.

Sierra Leone chimp refuge shuts doors to tourists to protest deforestation The eco-lodges and tree-covered footpaths of West Africa's largest chimpanzee refuge have been devoid of tourists for more than two months as its founder stages a protest about rampant deforestation in Sierra Leone.

You can support the Tacugama Chimp Sanctuary and their mission via their website: www.tacugama.com #primates

Grainy photo adapted from security camera footage shows two small macaques trying to rip a mirror off of a car.

Singapore is a GOAT in managing human-monkey conflict but this new fad(?) caught our attention:

Monkeys are stealing car mirrors and playing with them in trees

www.channelnewsasia.com/cna-insider/.... #primates

The Criminal Enterprise Run by Monkeys A cabal of furry thieves snatch iPhones and other valuables from visitors to a temple in Bali–and trade them for mangos

Paywall alert. If any followers have access to WSJ and could post a gift link in comments, please do.

The 2021 paper cited here is open access at: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2019.0677

'Chimp Crazy' Star Arrested, as Another Ape Found Hidden in Her Basement HBO star Tonia Haddix was arrested over the weekend in Missouri, weeks after officials found she had hidden another ape in her basement.

A piece from Rolling Stone has a bit more context regarding the "secret chimp."

‘Chimp Crazy' star Tonia Haddix allegedly violates bond by having secret chimp Law enforcement reported finding the female chimp in a cage on Tonia Haddix’s property on July 9.

Prior to her recent arrest, Haddix was found to be hiding ANOTHER chimp in a basement cage!

'Well-mannered' monkey caught stealing egg in Wuling Farm - Focus Taiwan A monkey has been praised as being "well-mannered" for its courteous nature after being caught on camera pilfering a tea-egg from an office on Wuling Farm in a mountainous part of Taichung on Tuesday ...

After snatching the egg from indoors, the "loner" macaque exits via a window and is seen on video closing it behind him.

2/ Linden also wrote two illuminating books about the 1970s great ape "sign language" experiments & assisted Penny Patterson w/ _The Education of Koko_ (but don’t hold that against him). A former New York Times journalist, he’s a solid writer and a generally reliable reporter. See: eugenelinden.com

Book cover: The Parrot's Lament: And Other True Tales of Animal Intrigue, Intelligence, and Ingenuity by Eugene Linden (Plume/Penguin, 1999). Includes a photo of a human rowing a boat that contains a female leopard holding her cub.

1/ Summer nonfiction, anyone? Written in 1999, Parrot’s Lament is a fun collection of stories from zookeepers & others, heavy on great apes. We learn that chimps will try to steal your keys every time you walk past, for example, whereas orangutans will only do it when they know they’ll succeed.

Screen shot of a Kawaii quote from Asquitch’s dissertation: This is not illogical. By penetrating the group and sharing its living space, we come to sense the monkeys' f aura! . Our eventual cognitive knowledge of individual monkeys may depend upon this emotional or intuitive awareness which is perhaps based on a natural empathy with the monkeys which comes through sharing the experience of simply being alive. It may sound far-fetched, but perhaps our intuition about animals is sensed by the old cortex rather than the new.” (p.292) For more background on the history of Japanese primatology & the West's response, check out the work of Canadian anthropologist Pamela Asquith: https://www.pamelaasquith.ca Her 1981 thesis from the University of Oxford contained the Masao Kawaii passage and Itani quip cited above. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ced23a88-1ca0-47a9-a3be-a72dbaea1788

2/ The secret, according to Itani, was NOT to focus on minute physical traits, such as moles, but to study a monkey’s aura: Does he have a "stupid" face, a "sneaky" countenance, etc.?

Intuiting "personalities" may have been anthropomorphic, but it produced results. Masao Kawaii (1969):

A collection of 9 faces of Barbary macaques, a different species than those studied in Japan, Japanese macaques. (Photo: Alyssa M Arre)

1/ Western scientists were slow to take Japanese primatologists seriously, finding the work of pioneer Imanishi & his disciple Itani weird & anthropomorphic. In the 1950s, Westerners didn't believe it possible to distinguish hundreds of individual monkeys, as Japanese scientists did. (Alyssa M Arre)

Lincoln Park Zoo snow monkeys dabble in computer research Japanese snow monkeys, or macaques, at Lincoln Park Zoo are participating in computer touch screen research. And the public can check it out daily.

The full segment from which this clip was taken is at abc7chicago.com/post/lincoln...

"Contrafreeloading" describes primates' inclination to choose to work rather than get a reward for free. For ex., macaques have been known to prefer foraging or doing computer tasks for pellets over receiving handouts. The clip below is from a 2016 ABC-News piece on Lincoln Park Zoo enrichment.

Photo of a "white-handed" lar gibbon sitting on a wood plank with their hands on their knees, wearing an expression that suggests boredom, as if posing for a professional portrait. The ape has light brown fur with black face surrounded by a halo of white fur, and white hands and feet.

Though generally considered monogamous, LAR GIBBONS have also been known to stray. A female crouches on a branch facing away from a male to indicate her readiness for sex. The male approaches from behind & copulates while hanging. Afterward, they give an "ee-ee" whining squeal. (Pakawi Park/IG)

Best Practice Guidelines – Responsible Images of Non-Human Primates Best Practice Guidelines for Responsible Images of Non-Human Primates A document detailing appropriate imagery (photos and videos) to be shared of non-human primates. The document describes in deta…

Major red flag to see a human hand touching wildlife

Russian boxer sparks fury after giving endangered orangutan her vape A young Russian boxer has gone viral on social media after filming herself giving a vape to an endangered orangutan at a safari park. The puffing primate inhaled a number of times.

The story emerged on Telegram, where a commenter suggested that the boxer be caged

It takes a village: Chimpanzee babies do better when their moms have social connections In chimpanzee communities, strong social ties can be a matter of life and death not just for the adults who form them, but for their kids, too. A new study of wild eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes...

Over 30 years of data from Gombe National Park shows that the best predictor for infant survival isn't rank, male allies or proximity to family but the mother's ties with other females

Chimps share with children sense of curiosity for social interactions – study Researchers found that both chimpanzees and young children prefer to watch videos of social interactions than videos of a single individual.

"They also found that young children and male chimpanzees were even willing to give up a treat to watch the videos."

By grabbing an infant during a fight, the male essentially forces the mother and other maternal kin to join in the fight to protect the infant, unwillingly acting as the male’s allies. A rather cowardly strategy of male-male competition.

YouTube video by Smithsonian Channel Alpha Baboon Stands Up for His Bullied Offspring (4K)

Julia, I'm curious about your take on this clip. The narrator suggests this male chacma baboon is protecting his young but it resembles buffering. Likely misinfo? More complicated? www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMRn...

Photo of an adult male Barbary macaque hugging a juvenile. Both animals have their eyes closed, as if napping togeter, adorably. Photo by Alyssa M. Arre

2/ Evolutionary, it doesn’t make sense for these males to attack random babes in their group, as one could be their offspring.

The most successful adult males actively cultivate relationships with the young, as willing participants are far more helpful. (Pic: Alyssa M. Arre) #primates

Photo of an adult male Barbary macaque facing off against another male while a young macaque sits on his back. The adult has a fear expression, a wide-mouth "smile" showing his teeth. Chances are this guy grabbed the little one in response to the other fellow's aggression.

1/ Agonistic buffering is when male monkeys grab infants or young "friends" to use as buffers in a fight. Mostly you see this in Old World baboons & macaques.

A male faced with an attacker from his group will grab a youngster, bringing down the heat and distracting his rival. (Pic: Alyssa M. Arre)

Chimpanzees can catch yawns from androids Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) can "catch" yawns from an android imitating human facial expressions, according to new research from City St George's, University of London.

"The study, published in Scientific Reports, demonstrates that chimpanzees will both yawn and lie down in response to yawns made by an android."