Monkeys May Have 'Pet' Wolves: Geladas Help Canines Hunt

First Posted: Jun 22, 2015 01:48 PM EDT

Could monkeys have "pet" wolves? Scientists have taken a closer look at the relationship between Ethiopian wolves and gelada monkeys and have found that even though the monkeys are prey, the wolves don't attack them.

Gelada monkeys are a close relative of baboons. As grazing primates, they eat grass and some herbs. They largely live in herds of 200 to 1,000 individuals. Within these herds of gelada monkeys, though, wolves can be found.

In this latest study, the researchers studied a band of about 200 gelada monkeys who regularly associated with wolves living in the area. The researchers found that, surprisingly, gelada monkeys would not move upon encountering the wolves, even when the wolves were in the middle of the herd. In fact, 68 percent of encounters resulted in no movement and only 11 percent resulted in a movement greater than 10 meters. In contrast, the geladas always fled greater distances toward safety whenever they encountered aggressive domestic dogs.

So why does this relationship occur? The researchers found that wolves experienced a foraging advantage on subterranean rodents when among the gelada monkeys. In fact, Ethiopian wolves foraged successfully in 66.7 percent of attempts among the gelada monkeys in contrast to 25 percent when by themselves. This success rate could be due to the fact that rodents were flushed out of the vegetation while the monkeys grazed. The other option is that the rodents have a diminished ability to detect predators due to a visual or auditory interference posed by the grazing monkeys.

Whatever the case, it seems that these monkeys and wolves get along. This could be an adaptive strategy for the wolves, but may also show what might have happened between dogs and humans when they first started interacting thousands of years ago.

The findings are published in the Journal of Mammalogy.

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Tagsmonkeys, Evolution, Wolves, Africa, Animal Behavior, Animals