With their long tails, grasping hands and cheeky expressions, monkeys are among the most familiar animals in the world. But the term “monkey” is a bit misleading—it’s actually a general name for members of a group of mammals called Simiiformes, which includes everything from the tiny marmoset to the giant lowland gorilla. The subset of the group that lacks tails is better known as apes, including gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans.
Monkeys often live in social groups, helping each other defend food sources and raise young. This type of group life requires some form of communication, and most monkey species use auditory signals (calls) to communicate. The sounds can travel for miles through forest canopy, which is helpful because visual signals would be obscured by brush and trees. For example, a female emperor tamarin uses her long tongue to signal to a mate that she wants to offload her babies.
But monkeys are also good at picking up on other people’s calls. A study of capuchin monkeys in the wild found that they were more likely to learn new skills if they were demonstrated by another member of the same group. It was the first time that researchers had observed this sort of “payoff bias” learning in a wild animal.
In addition to vocal communication, monkeys often demonstrate other forms of social intelligence, such as grooming other members of their troop. The act appears to be a way for monkeys to express affection or make peace with one another, and it may help keep the fur clean of parasites. In captivity, some monkeys even exhibit some human-like behavior, such as putting their arms around the necks of their caregivers.
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