Can Primates Bear Grudges?
Some of you may have heard about elephant attacks against humans. These wonderful creatures have an extremely good memory and apparently do bear grudges and have been witnessed around the world attacking humans in retaliation for taking over territory that once belonged to them. In December of 2000, a story originally published by Saoudi newspaper Al-Riyadh and picked up by other newspapers, including French Libération , recounted the incredible attack of a car on a road linking Mecca to Taëf. Apparently, a car drove over a hamadryas baboon and left him dead on the road. The members of his troop waited three long days until the car came back and launched an attack against it. One of the baboons (a leader?) screamed when the car appeared thereby starting the bout of stone throwing at the vehicle. The driver got out safe but the windshield was shattered. This attack is very interesting - it tends to indicate that baboons are aware of death and that ...