It
can be hard enough to get grown adults to work together. But vervet monkeys are
putting us human primates to shame.
In a study back in March, researchers
had these monkeys play a game
called forbidden circle, at least that’s what the
researchers called it. This game presented a social dilemma,
which required coordination between dominant and lesser-ranking monkeys.
The lesser-ranking female was trained to open a container of food, but she
would only do so when every dominant monkey was no longer within the so-called
forbidden circle. After trial and error, the dominants learned to cooperate
through individual learning and patience,
benefiting dominant and lesser-ranking monkeys alike.
