How to do Primate Research

So, it occurs to me that many (most?) of you want to try your hand at researching primate vocalization. I don't blame you. I strongly encourage it, but thought I might offer some useful tips before you set out. Please follow these directions carefully and remember that I am a trained professional and that novices should approach this work with appropriate caution.

1. FIND A MONKEY
While this step may seem obvious, it is a very important one and it is worth taking some time to perfect. Monkeys tend to live in trees, and spend a frustratingly large portion of their time VERY HIGH in said trees. So you will have to look up. Walk through the forest, eyes trained at the canopy some 50 meters overhead, and look for minuscule rustling in the branches. IMPORTANT: At least every so often, try to remember when the last time you looked at the ground was. This may keep you from stepping in a hole or on a snake.
When you see such a rustling, train your binoculars (you brought binoculars, didn't you?) and determine the cause of the rustling. In most cases it is a bird. Sometimes it is a squirrel. But SOMETIMES, it is a monkey. If so, you should make sure.

2. HOW TO KNOW YOU'VE FOUND A MONKEY

Not a Monkey:



Monkey:

3. IS IT A BLUE MONKEY?
I am only researching blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis) and therefore have no patience for the other primates that often cause rustling. You should know your monkey!

Not a Blue Monkey:


Blue Monkey:


4. IDENTIFY YOUR INDIVIDUAL
I will not belabor the discussion mis-matched nipples and other tell-tale (tail?) signs of individuality from earlier posts. However, you must know who you are dealing with (even as they bounce around at 50 meters over your head). Once you've ID'd your monkey, the research begins.

5. RECORD YOUR MONKEY
This is trickier than it might sound. I have a fancy field recording gizmo, complete with lots of buttons and dials (that way you can tell that I am really working and not just following monkeys for fun). Get one of your own. If you cannot afford a fancy field recording gizmo, listen very carefully and try to repeat the calls you hear so that you can repeat them back to your friends and colleagues. Especially the really loud ones. They will be very impressed with you and your new found line of work. They will call you a genius and wonder how they ever doubted the importance of studying the evolutionary implications of primate vocalizations.


There is certainly much more to researching primates, but this should be enough to get you started. I realize that there may be noticeable lack of non-human primates where you live, and this might be frustrating. Don't give up! You just have to believe in the monkeys. They believe in you.