These monkeys know their manners
WASHINGTON: Marmoset monkeys know how to carry on polite conversations, just like humans do, a new study has found.
The monkeys know when it is their turn to speak and engage one another for up to 30 minutes at a time in vocal turn-taking, researchers found. Marmoset monkeys are one of the smallest monkeys in the world, with most of them growing only up to 8 inches long.
"We were surprised by how reliably the marmoset monkeys exchanged their vocalizations in a cooperative manner," said Asif Ghazanfar of Princeton University. "This makes what we found much more similar to human conversations and very different from the coordinated calling of animals such as birds, frogs, or crickets, which is linked to mating or territorial defence."
In other words, marmosets appear willing to "talk" to just about anyone, and without interruptions.
No comments:
Post a Comment