Athletic monkey versus tall human

February 18, 2012 • 1:43 pm

The YouTube page hosting this video implies that it shows an attack display by a monkey (it looks to me like a species of spider monkey, but I’m sure a reader will identify it) (Update: readers immediately identified it as a gibbon, but haven’t yet pinned down the species):

This is at the cafe inside the Memphis Zoo. The manager of the cafe told me that the alpha male monkey noticed me the second I walked in the door and started going crazy, because, as the alpha male, he feels threatened by tall males. So she told me to go stand by the window and turn my back on him and that he would “attack” me…

I can’t vouch for the “reason” for that behavior, but this is an amazing display of simian acrobatics.

h/t: Michael

52 thoughts on “Athletic monkey versus tall human”

      1. So say the cladist purists.

        Many of the rest of us use “monkey” to refer to catarrhine and platyrrhine monkeys and “ape” for other higher primates.

        The general public is generally unaware of the difference between apes and other primates. It is a distinction worth making, IMO.

        1. Me too. There are 16 species of gibbon, so it’s a bit of a guess for me. Images on the internet seem to match for agilis, but not for c. 5 other sp. I quickly found. I’ve not made a comprehensive search.

          It appears that c. 3/4 of the existing ape species are gibbons. The most speciose of our close kin.

      2. Yes, I think you’re right. That does fit even better. I wonder what other species may be similar though.

        1. Well, the other species in Nomascus look similar.

          Nomascus gabriellae and Nomascus siki have photos in arkive.

          I think we can pinpoint the genus.

          2. Here’s what the Red List says about that: “This taxon [siki] is variously considered a subspecies of N. concolor, N. leucogenys and N. gabriellae (M. Richardson pers. comm.). This may not be a genuine species, but rather, a natural hybrid of N. leucogenys and N. gabriellae.”

            It seems we’re converging on an answer though.

        2. I agree – no points off anywhere I can see; that makes it a 10 (except for previously mentioned Russian judge).

    1. It’s more accurate to use sexually dichromatic, dimorphic might give the impression of size/shape difference.

  8. Those are bonobos. I’m at that zoo a couple times a month with my 4 year old and she loves that exhibit (which is inside of the Cat House Cafe). Those furry critters are always doing acrobatic acts and jumping at people regardless (it seems) of whether they’re males and/or have their backs turned

    1. No. Bonobos are close cousins of chimps… Great Apes. Gibbons are distant cousins, among the Lesser Apes.

      1. What do you mean by “physically identical”? They are distinct species: Pan paniscus vs. Pan troglodytes.

        1. I mean that unless you’re a trained primatologist, bonobos and common chimpanzees are nearly indistinguishable from each other. The differences between the two are primarily genetic and behavioral, not appearance.

          Remember, plenty of distinctive species have identical or nearly identical phenotypes- the two species of African elephants, for example.

          1. Well, OK. Perhaps we quibble over words. The difference is real and interesting, although many folk might not be able to distinguish them one from the other. Nevertheless, it was a gibbon. 😉

          2. Generally speaking, Bonobos are born with black faces and retain this facial coloration into adult hood. Common chimps are born with pinkish faces and in some subspecies the faces may darken upon reaching adulthood. Bonobos also tend to have parted hair on their heads; they are also more “slender looking” in body shape than common chimps. But it’s still kinda difficult to sometimes tell the two species apart from a single photograph.

  9. There is an old story from the Copenhagen Zoo where the male gorilla, Samson, got jealous on one of the zoo keepers to the point where he would start attacking the glass every time he caught sight of him.

    Given this, the zoo unfortunately had to let the zoo keeper go.

    After stopping at the zoo, the zoo keeper would apparently some times go into the zoo and sneak into the primate house, keeping out of sight of Samson. Then he would wait until a school class was standing in front of the window, and then show himself for Samson, who would fly into rage, attacking the glass, which the school class was standing right in front off.

    Samson and the rest of the gorillas have since been moved to a different zoo – http://www.zoochat.com/420/givskud-zoo-samson-63741/

  13. Wow! Notice how the ape’s feet would have impacted right smack in the back of the guy’s head. Ouch!

    That’s astonishingly good aim, in that he would have had to let go of the rope at just the right time.

    Also, the other primate was pretty scared there at the end. Fortunately, the parent primates knew just the right comforting noises.

  14. A snow leopard did something similar to me at the zoo once. He came up to the plexiglass and I held my hand out just like you do with a kitteh. He sniffed, but of course could not smell anything. He turned around, lifted his tail, and shot some cat spray right at eye level.

    How does the gibbon distinguish human males from human females. Is he simply just threatened by the tallest human in any group? Gibbons are semi-monogamous. Does he recognize human pair bonds as analogs of his own ape society? They have a child with them. Maybe this tips him off.

    1. I don’t think there’s any threat involved. I think that ape likes to try and spook the visitors-that little stunt probably have a tremendous pay-off the first time he did it…

    1. Quite easy to explain. Inexperienced leopard gets lucky and kills a baboon. Baboon has a large eyed baby, who prompts a maternal instinct. Young leopard gets confused.

      I see the same thing in my kitteh. She is spayed and used to roam free. I have moved and she is now very old. I have a couple of stuffed animals that I bring out from time to time. My cat at first reacts to them like they are intruders, but after smacking them a couple of times, she washes them like they are her kittens. Except for the “Animal” Muppet show drummer doll. My cat hates him. The large high contrast eyes disturb her

      My cat is old and has a kidney and bladder condition that cannot always be controlled I think giving her the opportunity to fight stuffed animals and dolls makes her life more rich and complete.

    2. Hmmm. Riveting to watch, but I can’t help but think that it can’t end well.

      What an adorable baby baboon!

  16. Oh yes! As a zoo keeper years ago I had similar reactions when I went in a monkey cage to clean it, If the dominant male thought I was paying too much attention to his girl friends he would threaten me but never really attack. He preferred to get above me and pee on me. I usually wrapped plastic around my shoulders and wore a pith helmet. Mandrills, on the other hand, were very jealous and dangerous. The boss male would attack me if I even looked at his girls through the glass. Body language is so important with primates. And, the primate in the film is a white faced gibbon as someone else identified. They quickly learn that larger humans are usually male. He may not have attacked had the man been in the cage or he knew him. Women keepers are often treated differently from male keepers. Sense of smell you know.

  17. At the Honolulu Zoo, the orang gets jealous when one of the retired keepers comes to visit, and either makes a series of display calls against the glass, or mounts the female right against the glass.

    Apparently facial hair is threatening to orangs.

  18. Why “attacks”?

    Are we entertaining the possibility that it was a friendly gesture? That gibbons dropkick eachother in the back as a sign of appreciation?

    1. Well, it’s possible that the gibbon knew that it wouldn’t actually strike the man but thought smacking the glass behind him was funny.

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