… then, according to this article in NewScientist (1 July 2017), eat termite-processed mud.
“The important thing is that this isn’t just any mud, it’s termite-processed mud,” says team member Mrinalini Watsa at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri. Analysis showed that the mud can absorb cations – positively charged particles – so could mop up potentially toxic metal ones from other substances in the monkeys’ diet (Primates, doi.org/b82k).
“This was key,” says Adams. “A large part of a saki’s [a small primate] diet is seeds from unripe fruit, and these are packed with toxic chemicals.”
The region’s [Amazonian Peru] other major seed eaters – macaws and parrots – fly to clay-rich soils on riverside cliffs for stomach-calming intestinal mudbaths. Sakis have found a solution closer to their homes.
Next question: instinctual or cultural behavior?
