Quote:
Originally Posted by jimbomaybe
Human beings are omnivores, eat whatever they (we) can get , including somebody else's lunch, take advantage of other groups disadvantaged situation, competition thins the herd and sharpens the predatory instinct
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We do share some pretty questionable attributes with the other primates. Plotting to take something that isn't ours is just one.
Some years back my wife and I were vacationing with "the family" (20 or so people including the kids) on the southern coast of Thailand. Beautiful setting: mountainous rain forests, several resorts. Also quite a few macaque monkeys. We rented a compound of three cabins: it was late morning after breakfast and we were all outside when a troop of macaques showed up. Maybe 10-15 including a couple of very young ones, cute as hell. They stayed just behind the trees surrounding the compound, watching us. We tossed some tidbits to the little ones who showed no fear at all, coming almost up to us to get the stuff. The adults stayed back though, all except one, looked to be the guy in charge, perched on the roof of one of the cabins looking for all the world like Yogi Berra crouched behind the plate. We tossed some balls of rice to him which he adeptly caught and ate. Great fun. We took some pictures.
Just before noon we menfolk went on a beer run. According to the women, as soon as we left the monkeys swooped on in, chased the women and kids into the cabins and gorged on everything left out on the tables.
Never yet met a monkey that I trusted.