primate, refer to the large group of members who intercommunicate extensively, exhibit division of labour and bear some relatively permanent social relationship to one another.The primates that tourist learn their feature at Tanzania National Parks is monkeys, baboons and langurs.
Social organization in monkeys can be studied under the following categories;
i. Size and composition of a social organization
ii. Territoriality and aggression
iii. Feeding behavior
iv. Dominancy hierarchy
v. Communication
vi. Grooming
vii. Sexual behavior
viii. Parental care.
ix. Altruism.
Monkeys in Tanzania safari, live in their respective home ranges. When they move or migrate the dominant males leads the troop followed by the adult males and females followed by females with babies and juveniles. The remaining males are seen in the rear of the troop. The sub adults and juvenilles move on the land following the adults. They also climb to the branch of the trees and leap around as they are hyper active. Some of them lag behind looking for food or falling off the branches. However they ultimately join the troop, the dominant males call out to them to make sure the members are together.
The bonnet monkeys feed during the morning and evenings resting in between and normally avoid feeding at night. They are seen to feed though out the day if food is available. The monkeys are omnivorous and feed on the varieties of food like, crops i.e. paddy, grams, peanuts, wild fruit gum juice, insects, larval forms, and arachnids, cultivated crops like coffee fruits, citrus fruits, and cardamom. They eat the leaves and fruits, stems, bark, stilt roots etc. They feed in a hurry manner and store foods in cheek pouches. The food is later taken out by using their hands or movements of the tongue and chewed slowly.
The troop always has a dominant male (alpha male) The crowning of alpha male occurs with threats and attack. The threat posture is seen in a typical male is an open mouth with teeth exposed, ears are held against head. The head and body is held stiff. The attack includes biting and manual biting. There will not be much injury caused to other. Staring is also a part of competition. The male stares at another male with head held forward and brow protruded. The loser walks away. The dominant male moves around majestically with its tail raised in the form of S letter. The subordinate male assumes a crouching or subdued position.
Communication is an essential part of a social organization. Communication is of various forms, using signs and signals, sound and Odours. The body language in the troop depends on their social ranking. The dominant male has a majestic gait while the subordinate have a subdued posture. The females that are in heat invite the male to mate during the breeding season. The facial expression is used to convey their feelings.
The monkeys are able to make different sounds that convey different feelings and intentions. They growl to threaten others. They give out a loud whooping cry to warn the others of the danger. They make soft sound to invite others to groom them, they can also cry loudly in distress in an event of injury.
In matting
Pheromones are produced by females to attract the male during the mating/bleeding season.
Monkeys groom to clean their body surface. If the monkey groom themselves it is known as auto grooming and if they groomed by others it is known as allogrooming. Mutual grooming occurs between two consenting individuals. Also there is group grooming where more than two or three adults sit together and groom each other.
Grooming brings about social contact, encourages the mingling between different individuals of various ranks.
It reduces the aggression among the individuals
It is the relaxing activity and they spend a lot of time grooming while they are not feeding or moving around.
Grooming allows the subordinate males to get closer to the dominant males which is otherwise not possible.
Males approach females for copulation. The dominant males have the first choice and females also oblique them. The female assumes a presentation display when dominant males are around. The female turns its back to the male and lifts her tail. This is an invitation to males for mating. This posture conveys that she is willing to mate. Some of the females have the swollen and brightly colored rear end during the mating season.
However the females are not averse to mate with the subordinates too, the males do not disturb the mating couple even if females are with lower rank males. The males are attracted to estrus female due to pheromones and there is genital testing of the females by the males or anogenital exploration. The males checks if the females are in receptive conditions and only then mate with her. Monkeys are polygamous in nature, it is very to find them in pair throughout their life time.
The gestation period of monkey is about 150 days. Normally only one individual is born but there may be rare chances of twins. During the 4 to 6 weeks of the infants life is spent clinging to the ventral side of the mother and feeding on milk. The infants-mother relationship is very close and the bonding last for almost a year or more or till another infant is born.
The female take care of her baby at the time, by sucking baby the milk, grooming the baby and also by ensuring the baby eats soft foods when is almost a year aged.
Primates live in social organization in such a way one individual is able to save/benefits other individual. Dominant males or females are able of sacrificing their lives for the favour of the younger ones as they believe that they are the ones carries their genes to the next generation.
Why altruism?
It aims at saving the fit ones or selected ones or the younger generation so that they live to reproduce and continue the species.