Posted on 07/15/2010 7:59:39 AM PDT by JoeProBono
Despite "poor imitation," cat shows surprising "psychological cunning."
For a plucky little forest cat, the key to survival might just be "monkey see, monkey do."
The margay (picture), or tree ocelot, mimics monkey calls to draw in prey, the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced Thursday.
Scientists in the Amazon rain forest's Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke, near Manaus, Brazil, heard a margay imitating the call of a baby pied tamarin monkey in 2005.
It was the first—and so far, only—scientifically documented case of a cat imitating a prey species in the Americas, team member Fabio Rohe, a researcher for the New York-based nonprofit WCS, said in an email. Rohe added that he's unaware of any other predators in the world using vocal mimicry as a hunting tool.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalgeographic.com ...
You’d think they could have gotten some audio/video like this woman did of her cat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV71mpbvl-g
sneaky kitty ping
"I wanna be like you..."
Can it mimic a Cheese Eating Surrender Monkey?
Cool that this cat has figured out how to get its prey to come to it! Clever kitty!
What an awesome story, and wonderful pictures! When I was a kid, I had a cat and a parakeet. After the cat died, we started hearing meowing that sounded like his, which of course was unsettling. The bird, one that is not known to mimic sounds like other birds can, was meowing just like old Chester. Sweet and creepy at the same time.
I know someone who taught the pet bird to say “here kitty kitty kitty”. The cat would come running and then look around but not see anyone. And the bird would clam up.
Aww, it said Tiggy passed away on June 23. Sad...my doggie is getting up there and it will be heart breaking when his time comes...
Is there a video or something over there? I see nothing...
Where?
You're joking, right? When I was a kid, my parents always had a parakeet. It talked, saying "pretty boy," "Wino" (its name), other words and phrases; and noises, like car doors and traffic. It also mimicked the birds outside, and it continuously "sang" during daylight hours, one birdsong after another.
It's sad that your bird never spoke anything but cattish. You must have had a very quiet house.
Cat mimicking a monkey? Heck, I have four of them right here. In fact, Lucas’s nickname is Monkey Boy because he’s a little acrobat and mischief maker.
....at your link...
Pretty big feet for such a little guy!
I was thinking the same thing. Big feet.
My younger sister had a parakeet when her kids were all at home. The ‘keet’s name was “Oscar” because he was green, and Sesame Street was big. When my youngest niece (she was 4 years old) got bronchitis, she would have these enormous wet coughs and all we could do was try to make sure she was comfortable.
When she recovered, we soon realized that she was coughing again. Mom would go down the hall to her room to see her playing quietly, or realize that she was outside. And then it became clear: Oscar was coughing!!
One day in the summer, my late hubby and I visited, and it was rather warm in the house. My brother-in-law went outside to fix the evaporative cooler. When he turned it on from outside, we felt the rush of cool air and heard from the bird cage a low whistle...like a wolf whistle! Twice! His cage was across the room from the cooler and he really did appreciate the cool air!
Suffice it to say, I never underestimate the intelligence of any animal that I rescue. They are all unique and awesome!
My family had a dog when I was a toddler, but my mother didn’t want pets, so all we had was a parakeet when I was growing up.
Imagine my surprise, when Hubby and I started taking in stray cats, that they have individual personalities, temperaments, and intelligence. Their voices are different, so much so that one time I was with my Rocket at the vet’s, and Doctor put him in a cage to wait for a urine sample. He cried so much that I asked what was wrong with him. Then I realized that he thought I was going to leave him there. Doctor was astonished that I knew his voice.
I was astonished that she was that ignorant and got another vet.
If you love an animal, nothing should be “astonishing.” I used to get “visuals” from one of my pugs and always did as he “asked.” My late husband called me “crazy” and thought communication between a dog (cat, bird, horse, cow, pig, hamster...etc.) and a human was absolutely ridiculous.
He was unable, however, to explain how happy the dog was when I did what he “told” me.
I would have changed vets, too. Don’t be a vet if you can’t really LISTEN to animals.
I honestly never knew they could! I’m not a huge fan of birds, mostly because the ones I would love to have require too much care (on top of having to find someone to inherit the bird when I croak), so I haven’t spent much time learning about them. How sad! If I had known that when I had the bird, perhaps I could have taught it a few words....maybe it’s time for me to get another one, if hubby will let me (he wants a bunny, but I would settle for both).
I’ve seen a monkey-kitten or two in my time. They’re great.
Oh cool! Birds and bunnies would be really nice. I hope that you both get the pets that you want.
Indeed they are. We got the late Muffin in 1982 when he was only eight weeks. Goodness gracious! What a ball of energy! He was a climber, a fetcher, and a talker. I have told you before how smart he was. We still miss him.
They’re both sort of funny looking.
We’ve got 4, one of who we figure is autistic or something...he has no clue how to act and seems to only get by, by watching the others and mimicking.
For the first 2 years we owned him, we assumed he was mute...never heard a single sound come from his mouth, or even an audible purr. Then out of the blue, he started occasionally making small chirps or kittenish mews...being the mimic he is, he sounds *exactly* like his brother, who apparently served as the example.
He’s actually a VERY sweet kitty, loves to be loved on and all, and we figure he’s got something of a sense of humor...he’ll hop up on the bed or table with a chirp and if we’re not looking we tend to assume it’s his brother til we see or reach out to pet. His imitation is THAT good!
I had a rat who used to do that, Yes, a tame rat. She was smarter than most people I know and SHAMELESSLY manipulative.
Oh no! Good-bye, little "hello" kitty!
Mimicking the sound of prey. Hmmm. Seems just like what the Obama Administration does when it claims that it is pro-business, wants to cut the deficit and is actually FOR tax cuts. Yeah, right. These monkeys won’t be lured.
“In a Thursday interview, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel argued that rather than recoiling against Obama, business leaders should be grateful for his support on at least a half-dozen counts” http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/39495.html
There are a million, no a billion, tales about cats. Calling a cat a weirdo is to say it is a normal cat. If you want to start another undead thread, open one where cat lovers are asked to share their stories.
They are all very sweet kitties, even Miss Hissy Slashy. She does love being massaged and brushed, and she almost never slashes me anymore.
My kittehs all have different voices, and the only mimic is Lucas, who learned to hiss from the late Bitch Cat From Hell, and to seem to be choking from little Shadow, who no longer does it since Lucas started doing it.
Sigh... [shrug]
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