Intentional communication between wild bonnet macaques and humans.

ABSTRACT: Comparative studies of nonhuman communication systems could provide insights into the origins and evolution of a distinct dimension of human language: intentionality. Recent studies have provided evidence for intentional communication in different species but generally in captive settings. We report here a novel behaviour of food requesting from humans displayed by wild bonnet macaques Macaca radiata, an Old World cercopithecine primate, in the Bandipur National Park of southern India. Using both natural observations and field experiments, we examined four different behavioural components-coo-calls, hand-extension gesture, orientation, and monitoring behaviour-of food requesting for their conformity with the established criteria of intentional communication. Our results suggest that food r

SUBMITTER: Deshpande A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5897542 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature