• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Lifestyle Health

Baboons use essential hygiene technique lots of humans forget to do

The images were taken by researchers during a study at Paignton Zoo

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
2018-09-03 14:59
in Health, Must Reads, Weird News
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

A student studying animal behaviour at a zoo was stunned to spot evidence that baboons – FLOSS their teeth.

Pictures show hygiene-conscious monkey picking apart the bristles before using them to clean out its own mouth.

The unusual behaviour was observed by a research student at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, who also saw them using their own hair to do it as well.

Charlotte Morgan, who is studying for an MSc in Animal Behaviour at the University of Exeter, said she believed they had taught themselves the activity for both hygiene and social purposes.

She said: “Research at the zoo found that certain baboons floss using their own hair and bristles from broom heads.

“I have observed cases where baboons will pluck hair off other baboons to floss, which is pretty exciting.

RelatedPosts

Two ‘louts’ kicked Asian taxi driver to death after he asked them to stop eating food in cab

‘Girls smell better at 16 than at 28’: Tory council candidate’s shock remarks

New prostate treatment is being rolled out across the UK

Women are almost as likely to use social media for health advice as NHS, study finds

“My research project is looking to see if personality is related to dental flossing activity in the troop.

“From the results of my study, there does appear to be a relationship between certain personality traits and dental flossing.

“From what I have observed, they start off by grooming themselves and then they pluck off their own hair and place it between their teeth. With the broom heads they usually play around with them and then pluck the bristles off to floss.”

Charlotte said it was unclear how they had learnt to floss but suggested it was just trial and error.

She added: ““It’s very difficult to suggest, without more complex experimental set ups, exactly how the baboons are learning to floss.

“Trial and error learning at an individual level is probably occurring in some group members, but there may be a social learning element as well.

“We have found that animals from certain harems floss more than others, so potentially animals are learning from their social cohorts.

“We have also found animals that rate highly on the personality trait ‘imitation’ are more likely to floss, so it’s possible that these individuals are more likely to observe and learn from other baboons that have demonstrated dental flossing.”

Director of Conservation and Education Dr Amy Plowman: “Animals like dogs and even chimps can be taught to do things, which is very clever but it’s much more interesting scientifically if animals spontaneously do something with a tool without being taught, which would be the case with the baboons.”

Escaped parrot tells firefighters sent to rescue it from a roof to ‘f*** off’

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Corbyn: We will fight general election once all vestiges of a no-deal exit have been taken off the table

Boris Johnson denies banning the word ‘Brexit’

Marr asks Truss: “Why would we make a free trade deal that makes us poorer?”

WATCH: Shapps insists ‘Brexit is part of solution’ for HGV driver shortages

Newcastle United complete two transfer deals

PM Uses Tinder and LadBible to Connect with Young Voters in EU Referendum

Coronavirus UK – UK had ‘no time to lose’ to prevent thousands of deaths

Israel pounds Gaza with air strikes in worst violence since 2014

‘JAFFAGATE’: Biscuit giant McVitie’s shrink Christmas ‘yard’ of Jaffa Cakes

Amazing gift ideas for Teens

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.