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How to speak monkey: The language of cotton-top tamarins - Anne Savage

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TEDEd Animation

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The cotton-top tamarin is a very vocal monkey -- the species communicates using a sophisticated language of 38 distinct and grammatically structured calls! Anne Savage teaches a few of these chirps and whistles, taking us through a day in the life of Shakira the tamarin (using sounds pulled from the wild) as Shakira signals to her family, talks to her food and warns against potential predators.

How do scientists determine the meaning of cotton-top tamarin vocalizations?

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About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Anne Savage
  • Director Avi Ofer
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

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