Gorillas living in the wild make up happy little food-related songs as they eat, scientists have confirmed for the first time.
The discovery was made by a German researcher based in the Republic of the Congo, who found the larger-than-life primates hum and sing songs during meal-times.
The human-like habit has been seen with captive gorillas before, but never in the wild.
- Scientists discover monkeys 'can tell you to shut up' in linguistic breakthrough
- Rampaging gangs of violent monkeys attacking monastery visitors every day
Food-related vocalisations have been previously documented in monkeys such as wild chimpanzees and bonobos, but this is the first time gorillas have been confirmed to be musical at teatime.
The sounds, which were recorded by the scientist in the animals' natural habitat, include a "steady low-frequency tone” and other higher-pitched tones, depending of their mood.
Read More
Today's Top Stories
-
Derby stars plead guilty -
Paedo screams 'I'm not a beast!' -
Bulgaria racism 'vile -
Boy, 12, dies on train tracks
They are known to sing even louder if they are enjoying their meals, but only the more dominant in the group were found to sing.
Primatologist Eva Luef, who studied two groups in the Congo's wild western lowland told New Scientist: "Each gorilla has its own voice: you can really tell who’s singing.
- Great apes display 'theory of mind' in breakthrough science experiment
- Monkey meat, with murdered animals' fists clenched in terror, on sale in market
"And if it’s their favourite food, they sing louder.
“It was generally only dominant silverback males that sang and hummed while eating.”
The gorilla expert believes the songs may be a way for the alpha silverbacks to let the family know it is dinner time.
- Brazen monkey sits down at table of posh restaurant and eats spaghetti bolognese
- Monkey bites MP on leg as three of his staff quit over violent primate attacks
“He’s the one making the collective decisions for the group,” Luef said.
“We think he uses this vocalisation to inform the others ‘OK, now we’re eating.’”
Food calls have been used in the past to study monkey language.
The findings have been published in PLOS One and you can listen to the animals sing here.
- Animals
- Monkeys
Source: Read Full Article