Wild Marmoset Monkeys Learn Novel Tricks by Watching Videos

A study conducted on wild marmoset monkeys provides clues on this animal's ability to imitate and learn novel tricks by observing other animals in action.

The ability of a monkey to accomplish novel tasks after watching other monkeys perform the same has already been demonstrated in captive animals. But for the first time, researchers at the University of St. Andrews, in collaboration with the University of Vienna, have revealed that even the ones in the wild display this ability.

The study conducted on a group of 12 wild marmoset monkeys living in Pernambuco, Brazil, showed that wild marmoset monkeys are capable of learning and performing new tasks by watching a video of other unfamiliar monkeys in action.

In the research - led by Professor Andrew Whiten, Dr. Tina Gunfold and Professor Thomas Bugnyar - a group of trained wild marmoset monkeys were filmed as they performed various foraging techniques. This involves opening an artificial fruit to grab the inside food either by pulling open a drawer or lifting a lid. These sessions were recorded and replayed to the group of wild monkeys from Pernambuco.

Vienna's Dr Gunhold said, "These new findings could open up a range of possibilities for experimentally introducing behaviours and studying the basis of culture in animals."

A laptop was placed in a protective case in the region of the jungle where wild monkeys live and play. The laptop was above a transparent box containing the treat. The 12 groups were shown the clips of monkeys successfully opening the drawers or lifting the lid off the box and the other group was shown still images.

The researchers noticed that 12 of the monkeys successfully opened the box and 11 of them had watched the technique in the video. Apart from this, the monkeys also imitated the various methods of opening the fruit they had viewed in the video.

Professor Whiten, of the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews, explains, "Culture pervades our human lives so thoroughly it may seem like it separates us from the rest of the natural world. But our research is showing that the basic elements of social learning and creation of different regional traditions is shared much more widely amongst primates and other animals".

The study was documented in the scientific journal Biology Letters.