Cat calls monkeys to their doom

[n2doc]

Margays of the Brazilian Amazon mimic the sounds of small tamarins in order to lure them in for an attack.
Alan Boyle writes: Natives of the Amazonian jungle tell tales about cats that imitate the sounds of its prey to lure birds, monkeys or rodents into their clutches - and now researchers have recounted how the sneaky strategy works.
This tale, published in the June 2009 issue of Neotropical Primates, involves a margay cat that made baby monkey sounds in hopes of snagging a pied tamarin or two. But don't worry: No animals were hurt in the making of this research. The tamarins got away unharmed, thanks to a savvy sentry.
The journal paper's authors say their account was the first scientific publication to support the folk stories about Amazonian copycats. "Cats are known for their physical agility, but this vocal manipulation of prey species indicates a psychological cunning that merits further study," Fabio Rohe, a researcher with the Wildlife Conservation Society, said in a news release issued Wednesday.


Pied tamarins serve as prey for the Amazonian margay cat.
The cat-and-monkey encounter unfolded in Brazil's Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke in October 2005, while Rohe and his colleagues were remotely monitoring eight squirrel-sized pied tamarins feeding in a ficus tree. The sounds of tamarin babies in distress rang out from behind a clump of tangled vines. An adult male monkey climbed up and down the tree, trying to identify the source of the sound. In the meantime, the researchers saw where it was coming from: a margay cat, making its way toward the monkeys.

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/07/08/4640498-cat-calls-monkeys-to-their-doom

[zazen]

1. wow . . that's "theory of mind"--I know some humans who don't have that

Creepy, and fascinating. Thanks for the info.

[izquierdista]

2. or nuturing instinct...

"The sounds of tamarin babies in distress rang out from behind a clump of tangled vines. An adult male monkey climbed up and down the tree, trying to identify the source of the sound."
If it was a teabagger rally, adult males would demand to see the babies' birth certificates and demand that they pull themselves up by their bootie-straps.

[msongs]

3. and do it at gunpoint exercising their rkba "rights" nt

[zazen]

4. But the these cats have theory of mind, in a sociopathic sort of way

They're imagining what a Tamarin would think is important and manipulating it emotionally. YIKES!