Why a grinning monkey may be about to go ape
THINK this cheeky monkey’s grinning? Think again – there’s every chance it’s actually signalling its intention to bite, research suggests.
And should you find yourself on the receiving end of such a ‘smile’, don’t pout back because in the animals’ world, it’s a highly aggressive gesture, scientists say.
It might seem a remote prospect, but it is a risk for tourists. In 2014, for example, Stuart Gravenell from Gloucestershire needed 40 stitches after a macaque attack in Gibraltar.
University of Lincoln researchers said danger arises when tourists ‘think monkeys are happy but instead they are threatening them’.