Whistling orangutan
Bonnie is an orangutan who has taught herself how to whistle. Her imitation of a human caretaker is providing scientists with new insight into social learning and the evolution of speech. It's the first time that a non-human primate has been documented mimicking another species' sound without training. Bonnie lives at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Her unique talent is discussed in a new paper in the journal Primates by researchers from the Great Ape Trust and their colleagues. The Great Ape Trust site also has video of Bonnie whistling away. From the Great Ape Trust:
"Orangutan’s spontaneous whistling opens new chapter in study of evolution of speech" (via Fortean Times)Scientists have long known that orangutans copy physical movements of humans, but Bonnie’s whistling indicates that the learning capacities of orangutans and other great apes in the auditory domain might be more flexible than previously believed, (Great Ape Trust researcher Serge) Wich said. The behavior goes against the argument that orangutans have no control over their vocalizations and the sounds are purely emotional – that is, an involuntary response to stimuli such as predators.
Bonnie appears to whistle for the sake of making a sound rather than to receive a food reward or some other incentive. If asked to whistle, she is likely to oblige, another indication to scientists that she makes the sound voluntarily.
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Spell check the title please.
Wow.
She makes 'Moon River' sound like a farting orangutan.
She's whistling a little tune called "Let me out of my Damned Cage So I Can Beat You to Death."
It's catchy, and I won't get it out of my head the rest of the day.
Thanks.
teach her Twisted Nerve.
she ain't just whistling Dixie...
It never ceases to amaze me how the accepted scientific wisdom is always that animals do everything uncontrollably, or out of a completely alien frame of reference - that assuming that they make a noise because of an actual desire or thought, or that your cat rubs against you because it's fond of you, is somehow "anthropomorphising" animals, whereas assuming that everything they do is completely involuntary, and arises from emotions nothing like our own (if indeed we even allow that they have such a thing as emotions) is somehow the rational default assumption.
I imagine that comes from scientists having dealt extensively with common people and subsequently projecting the lack of ability for rational behavior onto animals.
It never ceases to amaze me how the accepted scientific wisdom is always that animals do everything uncontrollably
I have to say I'm a little confused by that attitude, too. I'm not particularly an animal person - I don't have and don't want any pets - but who actually believes that animals only make sounds involuntarily? Growing up, I had a dog who used to eat everything in sight. One of her favorite things to eat was our socks, and she would bark constantly as she swallowed them, because they muffled her voice and made it sound funny. She didn't do that with any of the other million things she stole and ate, but with the socks, she liked to hear the unusual sounds she could make. If a dog can make a noise just to hear the noise, it should be rather unsurprising that an orangutan can.
If a dog can make a noise just to hear the noise, it should be rather unsurprising that an orangutan can.
Are you sure she wasn't looking for attention by choking on a sock?
A mynah bird that's learned to talk also copies the inflection in the voice of the teacher.
Bet she winds up being allergic to peanuts.
Lauren: Socks also have that great smell dogs love, i.e., foul. Not challenging your observations of your own dog, but saying she ate them "because they muffled her voice and made it sound funny" and "she liked to hear the unusual sounds she could make" seems to assume a lot. Must've been funny as hell, though. I love dogs.
Bonnie just thinks you're sexy.
(Sorry Bonnie, I'm sure you're very nice, but I don't "swing" that way.)
Naw man, what I mean to say is: she ate them coz she ate every fucking thing, but with the socks, and with no other not-actually-food item, she would bark. Every single time, and she wasn't choking, coz she swallowed them fine. Our conclusion was that she liked or was at least interested in the bizarre sound it made.
ill lich "Bonnie just thinks you're sexy."
I don't much care for the whistling, but I'm lost in her eyes. She might just be Dr. Zaius to my Taylor.
Modus, sure you don't mean Dr. Cornelius?
Bah. I meant Mrs. Dr. Cornelius, that is, Zira. Link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_of_the_Apes_(1968_film)
Ugly Canuck "Modus, sure you don't mean Dr. Cornelius?"
I was going by species, not sex.
Scientists and other academics who spend all their time studying and going straight through college and graduate school without having any real-world experiences often make these gross blunders. Anyone who has ever had a pet or a girlfriend or boyfriend would not make these mistakes. They have PhDs but they have the emotional maturity of a 12-year-old, if that.
Les Paul pointed out that a kid who spends his high school and college years practicing scales in his basement might end up with an amazing technical facility but if he never played baseball or had his heart broken his music will be worthless. Same in science.
I was hoping for a tune.
Something like "Bananaphone".
I work at an orangutan rehabilitation centre in Sarawak. We have an orangutan named Chiam who has been whistling as long as I have been there. As above, she was never trained to do this, she has simply picked it up from animal keepers around her. We have noticed that she tends to whistle particularly when she is in a good mood. I can't say she holds a tune with much skill, but she certainly gives it a go. Being familiar with the intelligence of orangutan, I did not realise that this was something quite unusual and assumed many orangutan would exhibit this behaviour.
The company I work for runs a volunteering project at the rehabilitation centre. You can read more about Chiam, and the other orangutan residents, on our website:
www.orangutanproject.com