Monkeys Shop for Bargains
Monkeys possess a remarkable ability to learn. They have been found to take people’s belongings, then trade back those items in exchange for food.
Pictured above is the famous Monkey Selfie. British nature photographer David Slater became famous for carefully photographing critically endangered macaques. The most interesting observation was their fascination with his camera.
“I wanted a close-up image,” Slater said. So, to keep his distance, he placed the camera on a tripod, set it an automatic close-up, and then rigged it so the remote would be triggered by the monkey. When the monkeys were staring at their reflection in the lens, it triggered the camera and the monkey selfie was born.
Like most people who spend a great deal of time outdoors, Slater has a keen sense of the intelligence among species in nature. “After twenty years of working with wildlife, including the monkeys, my intimacy with nature has grown,” he said. “Monkeys display an intelligence in a natural sense, slightly different from the humancentric convention. They seem to possess intelligence in an evolutionary sense. “
Primates, which are considered part of the human family tree, demonstrate a great deal of emotional intelligence. They are able to recognize, reason, understand, and manage emotions in themselves and among others.
In the chapter on primates, there is an story of a silverback who saved a tracker from danger. The tracker was unknowingly headed straight toward a dangerous snare when a silverback stopped him and made him wait. He watched as two other gorillas carefully disabled the snare.
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