Singing for survival
Singing for survival - white- handed gibbons in Thailand.
Singing for survival - white- handed gibbons in Thailand.
How have human attitudes to animals changed over recent decades? Are our human abilities and instincts so very different from those of other animals? University primatologist Professor Andrew Whiten took part in a recent public debate in London which addressed what, if anything, really distinguishes human beings from their fellow creatures.
* Caption - observational learning by chimpanzees. Each chimpanzee in a chain of up to six learned the method they saw used to open a food box and passed it on to the next chimpanzee. Here a chimpanzee demonstrates the 'lift door' approach. Image by Devyn Carter, Yerkes Center. *
CAPTION: Researcher Karline Janmaat observing a mangabey on a trail in Uganda.
CAPTION: Kate, left, in the field recording the calls made by putty nosed monkeys, pictured right.
PICTURE CREDIT: Dr Vincent Janik.
* Singing male chaffinch - credit, Dr Henrik Brumm *
CAPTION: Techniques were passed on throughout communities through observation. CREDIT: Drawing by Amy Whiten.
How do animals - ranging from ants and dogs to pigeons and children - learn? Do they rely on traditions? Can they learn from other species?