Gelada monkeys are trying to tame wolves the same way humans did in the past!

Gelada is a unique species of monkey in many ways, they live in the mountains and grasslands of Ethiopia, known for a very special diet. Unlike other monkeys, geladas are mainly herbivorous. Almost their entire diet consists of plants they pick from the ground.

The gelada monkey (Theropithecus gelada) looks a lot like baboons. This primate is known to live in close-knit family groups, but they can also live in herds of up to hundreds of individuals extremely peacefully - which is relatively rare in these regions. Wild in Africa.

They are essentially the only primates that live almost entirely on grass, a trait commonly found in ungulates such as deer and cattle.

But perhaps the most interesting feature about gelada monkeys is not the one we just talked about - Some evidence suggests that, as humans did millennia ago, this primate may have been and is beginning to develop a partnership with the Ethiopian wolves. Some scientists have speculated that their interaction was the beginning of domestication.

In the grasslands of Ethiopia, scientists were amazed to find a striking example of cooperation between species. Ethiopian wolves were seen walking among a herd of gelada monkeys, but the monkeys appear to be familiar with the wolves' presence and not afraid of them. On the other hand, wolves also did not show any desire to attack the geladas, preferring to linger around the monkeys instead because it helped them catch more rodents. Some researchers say this strange relationship shares many characteristics with ancient humans domesticating dogs or cats.

How humans tame wolves

While the vast majority of people know that dogs were domesticated from wolves, there is still a lot of debate around when and why this happened. But certainly scientists agree that this process began thousands of years ago, but as to whether the process began in Europe or Asia, or both in parallel, the Rescue is still puzzling.

The process of human domestication of wolves began thousands of years ago.

Even so, scientists have a very good idea of ​​how domestication might have happened. It is thought that humans, after carrying out large prey hunts - such as a woolly mammoth hunt - left behind a lot of bones and even pieces of meat. Accordingly, wolf populations have sniffed meat, and instinctively, they move closer to human hunting grounds to steal bones and scraps of meat. Over time, some wolf populations became accustomed to humans, they became less aggressive, gradually became loved by humans, and led to active domestication.

And the important thing to understand about domestication is that it's good for both species involved. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), wolves have earned a few easy meals around humans and in return they can act as dogs. protect and warn people about potential dangers.

Proof that gelada monkeys are domesticating wolves

While monkeys gather in huge herds, grazing for hours on end, the Ethiopian wolf (Canis Simensis) mingles with a herd of geladas. Usually, wolves move in a zig-zag, sprinting when they feel prey is within their reach. When surrounded by geladas, however, the wandering wolves paced casually, being careful not to startle the pack.

If you thought that man was alone in his ability to domesticate animals, then perhaps by now, you will have to think again about this issue.

Research shows that gelada monkeys can also have a semi-cooperative relationship with wolves - in this case with Ethiopian wolves. Scientists observing geladas have discovered that, when the monkeys gather in groups in search of food, wolves will sometimes rush between them. This isn't meant to be scary - wolves don't stalk primates. According to Insider, the wolves do not aim to attack the monkeys, instead what they care about is the rodents around there.

After tracking Ethiopian wolves for 17 days, the researchers found that rodents in gelada packs had a success rate of 67 percent, compared with the usual success rate of only 67 percent. 25% when they find their own prey. The findings have been published in the Journal of Mammalogy.

"For Ethiopian wolves, establishing proximity to geladas is an adaptive strategy to enhance foraging success," the study's authors wrote.

Currently, it is not clear what makes wolves more successful when hunting in gelada monkeys. However, there is speculation that the monkeys may be driving the rodents out of the burrow due to their constant grazing, but that is just an unverified hypothesis at this time. Alternatively, the monkeys may be sheltering the wolves, distracting the rodents from dangerous predators.

Researchers at Dartmouth College have observed dynamics between species for a new study. They concluded that Ethiopian wolves have little interest in hunting geladas for food, although they do not mind hunting sheep and goats. The monkeys also seem to know this, as they do not feel threatened in the presence of wolves.

Sometimes, there are still a few wolves attacking the young, at which point other monkeys in the pack will quickly attack the wolf, forcing it to release the young.

After that wolf is chased away, it will never be allowed to appear in the midst of the pack again. Accordingly, other wolves seem to understand this move very well and will resist the temptation of hunting gelada monkeys so that they can continue to hunt the surrounding rodents.

Existing monkeys do not appear to have benefited from the presence of wolves, and without a two-way exchange of value between the two species, domestication would not have been possible.

However, when we compare the hypothesis that humans domesticated wolves, we can see a lot of similarities - in the beginning, wolves approached humans only for their own benefit. Humans have not yet received any benefit from them, and may even be attacked by wolves. But over time, humans have actively provided wolves with food, and gradually turned wolves into "tools" to help humans detect threats in the night and find prey when hunting.

Could the same thing happen in the grasslands of Ethiopia? Over the course of several thousand years, would they, the geladas, consider wolves as pets? Only future studies will really show what the relationship between geladas and wolves does for monkeys. Likewise, time will tell whether there was ever a true domestication relationship between animals.