Fergie's Tech Blog

Belated Friday Monkey Blogging: Friendly Female Macaque Monkeys Love a Good Gossip

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I have started a regularly recurring blog entry meme every Friday afternoon, inspired by Bruce Schneier's regular series of "Friday Squid Blogging" posts, and my very own maddening Monkey Theory.

Here is this week's installment (albeit a day late).

Via The Mail Online.

Female macaque monkeys love a good gossip as much as their chatty human counterparts, research has shown.

Scientists spent three months listening to a mixed group of macaques living on Cayo Santiago island off Puerto Rico.

They discovered that, just as with humans, the female of the species was more talkative than the male.

The experts counted the grunts, coos and 'girneys' - friendly chit-chat between two individuals - while ignoring calls specifically used when in the presence of food or a predator.

Female macaques were found to make 13 times as many friendly noises as males.

They were also much more likely to chat to other females than males.

The scientists believe this is because female macaques form solid, long-lasting bonds.

They stay in the same group for life, and rely on their female friends to help them look after offspring.

In contrast males, who rove between groups throughout their life, chatted to both sexes equally.

posted by Fergie @ 11/22/2008 05:42:00 PM