I don't understand a capuchin monkey's reaction to its own mirror reflection - any animal psychologists here?

Question

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capuchin_monkey

"When presented with a reflection, females gazed into their own eyes and made friendly gestures such as lip-smacking and swaying. Males made more eye contact than with strangers or familiar monkeys but reacted with signs of confusion or distress, such as squealing, curling up on the floor or trying to escape from the test room".

OK, now that you've read that can you please tell me why on earth would the monkey curl up on the floor? The other reactions show that it feels it is in danger, threatened and needs to be attentive and ready to react in case something happens, while curling up on the floor is the opposite of that. It can be seen as putting itself in direct danger. Anyone got a clue?

Answer 1

These answers are merely guesses, however I have studied animal behavior (behavioral ecology) so I do have some experience with the subject.

In the case of the females it seems they recognize that they are seeing an unfamiliar female monkey and are making conciliatory or friendly gestures.

In the case of the males it seems that they are also displaying conciliatory (non-aggressive) behavior as a fear response to the appearance of a strange male.

However I'm not an expert in the behavior of capuchin monkeys. Only an expert in capuchin monkey behavior could really give you a valid answer.

Keep in mind that animals, when confronted with a novel experience, don't necessarily exhibit normal behaviors. The stress associated with the novelty can cause them to exhibit unpredictable and seemingly inappropriate and unproductive behavior.

If you're interested in animal behavior the textbook used in most animal behavior classes (in both psychology and biology coursework) is John Alcock's "Animal Behavior, An Evolutionary Approach."

http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Behavior-Ev...

Answer 2

The female monkeys might have either noticed it was themselves and complimented their reflection OR noticed a stranger female and made friendly gestures toward her.

Males generally feel intimidated by other males. The males were probably confused by thinking he shouldn't like the male in the mirror, but it looks just like him. I am not a major in capuchin monkeys, I am just making an educated guess.

Answer 3

My guess is that the monkey is really content and happy. Like my 2 year old LOVES looking at herself in the mirror, maybe the monkey feels safe and ready to nap.

Answer 4

how about a 'flight or fight' response?

Answer 5

my dog when completely nuts when she saw her reflection for the first time. went into attack mode, she can really beef her self up, like push out all of her muscles and she looks huge. she ran over to the window barking like a maniac, realised it was herself and went back to normal.

I'm gussing it would be the same with capuchin monkey's, except that they don't want to fight. maybe curling up to play dead?