Monkeys Know How to Fish

Aside from seagulls, what other animals catch fish for their food? Monkeys-yes, ther are "fishermonkeys." Researchers from The Nature Conservancy in East Kalimantan and North Sumatra provinces of Indonesia discovered a species of silver-haired monkeys that fish on rivers for their food.The silver-haired long tailed macaques had been known to eat fruit and forage from crabs and insects, but not fishing on rivers. The researchers spotted these monkeys scooping up fish with their hands and eating along the riverbank.Erick Meijaard, one of the researchers, said that these silver-haired macaques are survivor species, which have the knowledge to cope with difficult conditions and shifthing food sourses. Agustin Fuentes, a profesor of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame in the United STates, was not surprised of this behavior. He said that the long-tailed macaques are very adaptive animals. Fuentes had seen similar behaviors in Bali, where he had ovserrved many long-tailed monkeys in paddy fields foraging for frogs and crabs. He said that the macaques ability to thrive in urban and rural environments in Indonesia and northern THailand could offer lessons for endangered species.

We look at so many primate species not doing well. But at the same time, these macaques are doing well. we should learn what they do successfully in relation to other species.