Monkeys that have their own “primate-focused” versions of Spotify and Netflix are more likely to choose audio stimuli based on screen time, a study found.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow and Aalto University in Finland set out to study how a group of three white-faced monkeys at the Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki would respond to the possibility of triggering audio or visual stimuli on demand.
Infrared sensors have been used to create three equal-sized interactive zones in a tunnel in the monkey’s enclosure, and the bags will trigger either video or sound on the screen in front of them, which plays as long as they choose to stay.
Their interactions were recorded, and it was found that sacs triggered twice as many audio stimuli as visual stimuli, suggesting that they preferred to listen to Arctic monkeys rather than watch Planet of the Apes.
As the study progressed, their overall levels of interaction with the two stimuli decreased, but their interactions with visual stimuli increased compared to audio stimuli. In total, of the three audio files, they listened to the most music (the others were sounds of rain and noise from traffic). The underwater scenes turned out to be the most popular of the three video files, against the competition of videos with worms and abstract shapes and colors.
Touch screen systems are designed to entertain and engage animals with interactions, stimulating knowledge in ways comparable to activities they could take in the wild, helping to maintain their physical and mental health.
Dr Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, of the School of Computer Science at the University of Glasgow, said: “Our findings raise a number of issues that deserve further research to help us build effective interactive enrichment systems.
“Further research can help us determine whether brief interactions are just part of their typical behavior or reflect their level of interest in the system. Similarly, their different levels of interaction over time may reflect how engaging they have found the content or simply that they are accustomed to the presence of the tunnel in their enclosure.
“While they chose audio more regularly than video, the results were not statistically significant enough to know for sure what they preferred.
The system, used in the enclosure for 32 days, is the first of its kind to offer monkeys a choice of stimuli, the researchers said. The interactions of the sacks were mostly short, lasting a few seconds each time they walked or ran through the system – reflecting how they interacted with more familiar elements in their enclosure.
Saki are usually found in the lower canopy of the rainforests of Brazil, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela.
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