According to reports, the bonnet macaques at the Bandipur Tiger Reserve have learnt a new way to get food from human beings. While adult monkeys scare off people and grab their food, younger monkeys have learnt to beg. The monkeys could be seen maintaining eye contact and extending their hands to ask for food.
Anindya Sinha, a professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies reportedly said, "The hand-extension gesture is a completely novel gesture for wild monkeys. Certain macaque individuals (captive) have been seen to show this gesture towards human caregivers but it has never before been seen in a wild monkey and used in a natural context."
Reportedly, since the younger monkeys have to compete with the adults for food, it becomes difficult for them to strive. Being smaller, they are easily scared of humans and hence have evolved differently to survive.
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