Plenty of monkey business in this democracy: 21-08-2008
Man and monkey have long been considered distant cousins, with many parallels linking the two species, and now scientists have found yet more similarities.
Researchers in Indonesia have discovered that monkeys can come to a group decision democratically in much the same way as humans do.
It has long been known that ants and bees do this, but this is the first solid evidence that the trait exists in mammals, aside from humans.
The study was conducted by the French National Centre of Scientific Research's Odile Petit and took four months.
Ms Petit recorded the actions of two groups of Tonkean macaques in an enclosure in Indonesia, noticing that individuals from the groups would often test out an idea before waiting to see if the rest of the group agreed to follow.
Whenever two monkeys had opposing ideas, the one with the least followers would concede 'leadership' to the monkey with the majority of support.
Wildlife enthusiasts travelling to Indonesia on their honeymoon or an adventure holiday may also hope to see the endangered Sumatran Orangutan, which is endemic to the area.