Monkeys hate flying squirrels, report monkey-annoyance experts

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0730/Monkeys-hate-flying-squirrels-report-monkey-annoyance-experts]

Monkeys hate flying squirrels, report monkey-annoyance experts

Japanese macaques will completely flip out in when presented with a flying squirrels, a new study in monkey-antagonism has found. The research could pave the way for advanced methods of enraging monkeys.
By Adam Hadhazy, LiveScience Staff Writer / July 30, 2010

Researchers have observed small monkeys called Japanese macaques going bananas at the sight of a flying squirrel.

This riled-up response is probably just a false alarm, with the monkeys mistaking the squirrel for a predatory bird. On the other hand, male macaques – some of whom give chase and even attack a harmless rodent – might be trying to impress females in their troop. Although this tough-guy motive was not proved in a new study, "it is possible that adult or sub-adult male monkeys may be 'showing off' their fitness" as potential mates, said Kenji Onishi, an assistant professor of behavioral sciences at Osaka University and lead author of the paper being published in the current issue of the journal Primate Research.

Biologists and psychologists have long studied macaques' complex social interactions for insights into human evolution and behavior. However, much remains unknown about how macaques get along (or not) with other creatures. Better documentation of such encounters could reveal more about macaque societies as well as that of our shared primate forbearers.

"Human evolution occurred alongside primate evolution from a common mammalian ancestor," Onishi told LiveScience. "Therefore, it is important to learn the evolution of primates in understanding the previous steps in human evolution."

The real zoo escapees that mimic the cartoon characters in Madagascar

RIGHT: A Bactrian camel wandering through traffic. Dozens of animals at English zoos have managed to give their keepers the slip. Photo: ALAMY

A survey has revealed some of the unusual ways in which animals have succeeded in escaping from zoos across the country.

By Jasper Copping
Published: 8:45AM BST 04 Jul 2010

In the film Madagascar a group of cartoon animals breaks out of New York's Central Park zoo in an attempt to escape into the wild.

Alex the Lion is helped over the perimeter wall by his friend Melman the giraffe, while Gloria the hippopotamus smashes her way straight through, followed by Melman and some monkeys.

The scenario might sound fanciful, but real zoo animals appear to be just as determined and resourceful as their cartoon cousins in liberating themselves from captivity.

The Sunday Telegraph has uncovered details of exactly how dozens of animals at English zoos have managed to give their keepers the slip.

The methods of escape range from gnawing a hole in their cages, to scaling fences and crossing moats. In other cases, the creatures have simply capitalised on human error and got out through doors in their cages that were left open.

The real life escapees include:

• Akea, cheetah, who climbed over an 8ft high solar powered electric fence after it developed a fault. Fortunately, he was swiftly recaptured after he was spotted by a nine-year-old boy playing in his garden and returned to nearby Hamerton Zoo, near Huntingdon;
  
  
• A pack of dholes, or Asiatic wild dogs, which chewed through the fence of their pen at Howletts Wild Animal Park, near Canterbury. While some were quickly returned to the enclosure, others spread out in the surrounding countryside, leading police to warn the public not to approach the animals. The last one was not located for three days;
  
  
• A wolf which gnawed a hole in the wire mesh around its enclosure at Combe Martin Wildlife Park, Devon, and then crawled under the zoo's gate. The animal headed out onto a road near the adjacent village and was seen by a passing motorist, who raised the alarm;
  
  
• A wallaby at the same zoo which got out after the door to its enclosure was left open. The wallaby remained at large for several days in the surrounding countryside;
  
  
• A forest buffalo, an African creature which normally weighs up to 565kg, which managed to push the wire of its fence high enough to squeeze underneath it, although it did not succeed in getting out of the grounds of Marwell Zoo, near Winchester;
  
  
• A sulewesi crested macaque which got off its island compound at the same attraction. The animal was found to be wet when it was recovered elsewhere in the zoo, leading keepers to think it had been in the moat around the island;
  
  
• A flamingo, which flew out of the same attraction because staff did not realise it had not had its wings pinioned. It was spotted in a field by a member of the public and eventually recaptured.

Chris Newman, an exotic species expert and adviser to Defra, said: "Animals will be animals. Many of them are very inquisitive and this just shows how opportunistic they are."

One of the most endangered escapees was a red panda called Peter, which got out of his enclosure at London Zoo in the middle of the night and ran into Regent's Park where he climbed a tree.

Security staff alerted keepers who stayed under the tree monitoring him throughout the night. Attempts to coax Peter down with food failed and he had to be shot with a dart.

The information was disclosed in a series of Freedom of Information Act requests to councils, which must be informed of escapes, under the conditions of the licences they grant to zoos.

Each attraction must also hold four "practice escapes" over the course of a year in which a member of staff will play the part of an animal which has got loose.

Miranda Stevenson, director of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, said: "We have to accept that things go wrong and to be prepared for these eventualities which we hope are very few and far between.

"Most escapes are not of dangerous animals."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7870260/The-real-zoo-escapees-that-mimic-the-cartoon-characters-in-Madagascar.html

Monkey Phobia Woman Savaged By Macaques

11:14am UK, Friday June 18, 2010
Damien Pearse, Sky News Online

A British woman who went to a Thai nature resort to conquer her fear of monkeys has been savaged by a pack of macaques.

Dee Darwell, 56, lost consciousness after the monkeys surrounded her and sank their teeth into her arms and body.

Many of the primates remained hanging from her limbs as she lay collapsed with blood spurting from a "deep, deep hole" in her arm.

She was eventually rescued by Thai boatmen and was taken to Bangkok Phuket Hospital.

The horrific attack happened on Monkey Island near to the popular holiday island of Phuket in southern Thailand.

"I thought I was heading for safety under this rock in the shade, only to cool down," Mrs Darwell, from Peterborough, said.

"I laid the towel down and there were no monkeys in sight.

"The next thing I noticed, this monkey walked up next to me and I thought, oh dear, and I began to stand up to move away.

"Then, the monkey took my wrist and pounced on my right arm, sinking his teeth in and hung off it.

"He wouldn't let go; he was locked on. I was absolutely petrified."

Thai fishermen ran to the rescue after spotting more monkeys joining the assault and began prising them off.

Mrs Darwell said she had agreed to go on the Siam Sea Canoe tour with a friend to confront her fear of monkeys.

Her phobia had been triggered by her father bringing up a chimpanzee which she described as "positively evil".

She said: "I thought, this is it, I'm going to die, I'm going to be savaged by these monkeys - then I went into shock."

Mrs Darwell added: "I wouldn't have got off that bloody boat if the tour guide would have said at all that there was any danger, any risk, even the slightest risk."

Tour leader Mr Yongyut Buasod said: "We can't control the monkeys if they decide to bite someone, that's why we always warn the tourists.

"That day some people were teasing the monkeys. They don't necessarily attack the specific person teasing them."

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Monkey-Phobia-Dee-Darwell-Attacked-By-Macaques-Near-Phi-Phi-Don-Phuket-Thailand/Article/201006315651299?f=rss

Thai Police Force Takes Monkey On The Beat

10:13am UK, Friday April 02, 2010

Tom Bonnett, Sky News Online

A Thai police force has begun taking a monkey dressed in officer's uniform on patrol each day to help improve relations with Muslim separatists.

The five-year-old pig-tailed macaque was adopted after policemen in Yaha province in southern Thailand found him injured with a broken arm.

Trainers taught Santisuk, which means peace in Thai, to pick up coconuts and he now lends a hand collecting the fruit with residents.

The monkey also helps supervise a police checkpoint and his boss says he has made it a much happier place.

Motorists now stop to play with Santisuk, rather than getting angry at the hold-up.

Other forces are now considering introducing monkeys to better their image in the troubled province.

Separatists are blamed for most of the attacks in Thailand's predominantly Muslim deep south.

Buddhists and Muslims associated with the Thai state - such as police, soldiers, government officials and teachers - are often targeted.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Strange-News/Monkey-Police-Macaque-On-Patrol-With-Thai-Force-To-Help-Improve-Relations-With-Muslim-Separatists/Article/201004115591175?f=rss