Recently we learned about some orangutans that showed a proclivity for swimming and fishing.
Now we have another example of fishing primates.
Researchers recently observed a group of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) engaging in fishing behavior. The species had been known to occasionally forage for crabs and insects, but never for fish.
The macaques were observed along rivers scooping fish and eating them with their hands.
Researchers were amazed not only by the behavior, but that it had gone unobserved in the species until just recently. Also, the behavior obviously indicates an ability to adapt to an altering environment and food supply.
Cynics have often scoffed at reported accounts of sasquatches exhibiting similar behavior, declaring that such behavior is outside the behavioral scope of non-human primates. Recent observations of non-human primates (chimps, baboons, orangs and now macaques) engaged in fishing behavior clearly indicate that such thinking is flawed.
Source: AP News – My Way
