Hanuman Langur in Ranthambore, India

Dear Readers, when I was in India nearly twenty years ago, one of my favourite animals was the Hanuman langur. They were so elegant, with their long tails and black heart-shaped faces, and they were always curious and ready for every opportunity.

So it came as little surprise when I read that at the Dakshineswar temple complex near Kolkata, where the langurs are regarded as holy, they’ve come up with a whole range of tactics to persuade visitors to give them food. There’s no snatching or biting or misbehaviour. Instead, the monkeys either sit in front of someone and gaze up at them beseechingly, or cuddle their leg, or stand up, often in front of food stalls. The most effective mechanism was leg cuddling or clothes tugging, maybe because this method of gentle persuasion means that it’s more difficult for the humans to get away from the monkeys.Who could resist? Plus, 81% of the monkeys who ask for food in this way are fed – devout Hindus believe that feeding the animals will bring good karma.

One interesting observation from the study is that the monkeys show the same behaviours as the human beggars in the area, which makes me wonder – are the monkeys mimicking the humans, or have they simply learned what works by trial and error? Or is it a bit of both?

You can watch a film of the monkeys persuading people to feed them here.

Typically, the monkeys doing the begging are adult females, and they are not satisfied with cauliflower or carrots, but will hang on until they get some sweet buns. Not very good for them, sadly. Maybe sugar is addictive for monkeys as well as humans.

Interestingly , the monkeys never steal from the vendors (unlike the much cheekier macaques). Maybe their dignified demeanour is another reason that their tactic works so well!

You can read the original article here.