Researchers have found that rhesus macaque monkeys engage in very similar behavior, in which baby monkeys pitch screaming fits until their mothers give in and feed them in order to prevent attacks from irritated onlookers.
They make many grunting/squeaking sounds that represent different emotions/feelings. Excitement, happiness, anticipation, alarm, and fear are just some of the emotions monkeys express verbally.
If we define crying as emitting vocalizations that co-occur with distressing situations, then we can conclude that most monkeys and apes cry, especially as infants.
Monkey babies are known to throw tantrums to gain their mother's attention. Just like human babies, monkeys cannot fully communicate their wants and needs to their parents. This means that if a monkey is hungry, it will cry to let its mother know.
Most cases of such behavior have been attributed to the resource competition hypothesis, in which females can gain more access to resources for herself and for her young by killing unrelated infants.
Monkeys, apes and other simians have nothing quite like our tears. They have tear ducts to help keep their eyes lubricated and clean. But they don't drain when they're sad. Chimps will scrunch up their faces and make noise when they're in distress, but they don't connect the tears and the wailing.
Rhesus macaques oogle their babies just like human mothers do. It's a look that's been painted and photographed untold times: a mother gazing deep into her infant's eyes while the two smile and kiss. Psychologists believe this interplay helps a child's emotional and cognitive development.
Gentle Moms
And they found that, just like people and chimps, macaques can be very tender. The researchers observed macaque moms gently bouncing their young, holding their heads and trying to attract their gaze. And when the monkey moms made lip smacks, their babies often responded in kind.
Primates grieving over the death of a troop member is not a recently observed phenomenon. Studies have found many different species of primates display signs of grief, however, a study on Bereavement: Reactions, Consequences, and Care shows that the length and intensity of their mourning period varies between species.
Indeed, studies have shown that chimpanzees and macaques not only seek revenge, but often do so intelligently — for instance, if they see that their adversary is stronger than them, they attack a weaker relative instead.
Myth: Chimps can smile like humans do.
Chimps make this expression when they are afraid, unsure, stressed, or wanting to appear submissive to a more dominant troop member. The closest expression chimps have to a smile is a play face.
Now that is in the typical monkey, which was taught “manners” from its mother and troop. In the wild vervet monkeys will discipline their babies by biting them, often on the base of the tail or at the scruff. It's how they learn the hierarchy and appropriate behavior.
How long a primate should stay with its mother. In order to learn vital “life skills” a primate should stay with its mother through the birth and rearing of a sibling, generally until sexual maturity. For example sexual maturity does not occur in capuchin monkeys until they're about over four years of age.
These monkeys live in monogamous family groups that consist of the mother, father and offspring. The father is the main caretaker for the infants. He brings the infant to her mother to nurse. Infant monkeys are weaned at five months old.
Aggressive city monkeys will give you lots of warnings before an actual fight breaks out. First, the animals will look at you in the eyes, open their mouths, and bare their teeth. Rhesus macaques, the aggressive monkeys that cause a lot of the trouble in Delhi, will then warn you with a grunt.
A "threat" face (open mouth, ears and forehead forward, presumed to be the expression for anger, when a monkey is threatening others) A "lip smack" (lips are smacked together over and over again, presumed to be the expression for affiliation or appeasement)
Do not run away or show fear – this will just tell the monkey that you are inferior and their aggression could intensify. Back away slowly, don't turn your back on the monkey but do avoid making eye contact. Show the monkey that you are not holding anything in your hands.
Macaque monkeys grow up with their mothers and are often not familiar with their fathers. But they can recognise the paternal side of the family even without ever being introduced to them, according to a study published in the journal Current Biology.
Like us, monkeys form strong friendships and bitter rivalries. They fight for each other and take care of one another. And the leader of a monkey troop, when deposed, will even exhibit signs of depression.
Screams during a challenge convey whether the aggression is serious or minor, whether a higher-ranking or lower-ranking monkey is the aggressor and, through the dialect, which family member is being attacked.
So it seems like the boom call is helping the male monkeys attract mates by directly communicating with the female herself! Boom calls may have a second function as well, a way for the calling males to ensure their own mating success while maintaining group cohesion.
A gecker is a vocalization most often associated with infant primates. It is defined as a loud and distinct vocalization, which consists of a broken staccato noise. In 1965, Irven DeVore of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences described geckering as a "single sharp yak sound", which may be repeated.