Oral Care - Learn from the Best

Few things bother you as the food residue between the teeth: the macabre of the Nicobar Islands ( Macaca fascicularis ) , an archipelago in the Eastern Indian Ocean, knows it well, and for this reason has learned to obtain tools not only to get food , but also to treat oral hygiene.

The behavior of about twenty of these monkeys on the island of Gran Nicobar was followed by biologists at the Salmon Ali Center for Ornithology and Natural History in Coimbatore, India.

Many of the favorite foods of these primates are covered with thorns, hairs, shells or dirt. To eradicate non-edible wrappers, macaques use a variety of techniques: they wash the food in puddles or wrap it in dried leaves that then rub on the food to scrape the outer layer. They also use leaves, wastes of paper or plastic pieces and cloth to be able to keep sharp or biting food with their paws.

Like other monkeys, they learned to break the coconuts by slamming it to the ground or against the rock and - unpublished behavior - to shake the bushes to disturb the insects inside, and to catch those flying away.

I HAVE SOMETHING IN MY TEETH ...

After a meal, it's time to clean up: 9 of the 20 macaques observed have been seen between the teeth the equivalent of our floss after different meals, and at different points on the island. To do so they used bird feathers, tree needles, grass wires, coconut fibers, nylon or metal threads.

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IN GOOD COMPANY

Nicobar macaques are the third species of monkey in which curious behavior is observed. The Japanese macaques use their own long hair as the interdental thread.

If the ability to use tools is not new in the animal world , the use of different tools and knowing how to adapt to a purpose is a symptom of design and anticipation skills - an example of animal intelligence.

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