Decoding food solicitation techniques applied by free-ranging Hanuman langurs residing in an urban habitat

IF 1.9 2区生物学 Q3 BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Animal Cognition Pub Date : 2025-03-19 DOI:10.1007/s10071-024-01925-y

Dishari Dasgupta, Arnab Banerjee, Akash Dutta, Shohini Mitra, Debolina Banerjee, Rikita Karar, Srijita Karmakar, Aparajita Bhattacharya, Swastika Ghosh, Pritha Bhattacharjee, Manabi Paul

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Abstract

Urbanization has drastically altered natural habitats, forcing non-human primates (NHPs) to adapt to human-modified environments. This study examines one such adaptation undertaken by free-ranging Hanuman langurs residing in Dakshineswar, a temple area and a tourist hub in West Bengal. Our observations reveal that they have come up with solicitation behaviors resembling human begging wherein they ask for food from nearby humans using various gestures. Notably, we identified seven distinct ‘begging’ gestures, with those involving embracing human legs and pulling their clothes having strong correlation with successful outcome. Moreover, adult female langurs predominantly initiate such gestures, with successful solicitation events peaking during evening sessions. The findings underscore langurs' adaptive capacity to exploit anthropogenic resources, where they have started to associate human beings as their food source. This study sheds light on primate behavior in urban landscapes, adding further evidence to the complex dynamics of human-monkey interactions.

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来源期刊

Animal Cognition 生物-动物学

CiteScore

4.50

自引率

18.50%

发文量

125

审稿时长

4-8 weeks

期刊介绍： Animal Cognition is an interdisciplinary journal offering current research from many disciplines (ethology, behavioral ecology, animal behavior and learning, cognitive sciences, comparative psychology and evolutionary psychology) on all aspects of animal (and human) cognition in an evolutionary framework. Animal Cognition publishes original empirical and theoretical work, reviews, methods papers, short communications and correspondence on the mechanisms and evolution of biologically rooted cognitive-intellectual structures. The journal explores animal time perception and use; causality detection; innate reaction patterns and innate bases of learning; numerical competence and frequency expectancies; symbol use; communication; problem solving, animal thinking and use of tools, and the modularity of the mind.