Do not disturb: Monkeys invent new method of communication by covering their eyes when they want to be left alone

By ANDREW LEVY

Covering her eyes: A 15-year-old female mandrill, called Mandy, invented the gesture to tell other in Essex that she wants to be left alone

When a monkey started covering her face with her hands, some zoo staff thought she was plagued with poor eyesight.

Another theory was that the mandrill was shading her eyes from the sun.

But now an American expert has suggested the 15-year-old female, called Mandy, invented a unique gesture to tell other monkeys at Colchester Zoo in Essex that she wants to be left alone.

Remarkably, the signal has been picked by other members of the group when they too require solitude.


Unique: The gesture has not been spotted among other primates and is unlikely to have been influenced by human activity


Mark E Laidre, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California, believes it is evidence of social culture among the mandrills, which are the largest species of monkey and are best known for the eye-catching colouring on their faces and behinds.

It has not been spotted among other primates and is unlikely to have been influenced by human activity as, unlike apes, dolphins and dogs, mandrills do not mimic human behaviour.

source: dailymail