MAY 27,
2019
by
Marlowe Hood
Green and
vervet monkeys live on either side of Africa and their evolutionary paths
diverged 3.5 million years ago, and yet the two species share a hard-wired
vocabulary when faced with danger, clever experiments have shown.
The new
research, published Monday, sheds light not only on how primates—including
humans—respond to threats, but also on the building blocks of language itself.
Vervet
monkeys in the savannah of east Africa utter three distinct cries depending on
whether they spot a leopard, a snake or an eagle, their three main predators.
Fellow
monkeys who hear the cries but cannot see the peril react accordingly: the
leopard call sends them scurring up a tree, a snake call prompts them to stand
motionless on two legs, and the eagle cry makes them scan the sky while seeking
shelter.
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