Re: Hyenas and Small-Medium Predators

["Jaime A. Headden" <qilongia@yahoo.com>]

You wrote:

<I seem to recall a wildlife documentary where they showed monkeys that
would post senteries in trees to watch out for snakes and eagles while
the others milled around on the ground. I remember it, because the
monkeys had different calls for either "eagle" or "snake".>

  Are you talking about monkey-eating eagles? South American,
Phillipean, and an extinct form in Malagasy, which is about as close as
the giant eagles get to Africa. A bigger one is the moa-eating eagle of
New Zealand, but that is an entirely different bird -- it's an eagle,
though. I do not belive there are _any_ African harpies.

<Anyway, which "eagle" would that be? The Spanish one? It was a common
enough predator of the monkies that they had evolved a behavior to cope
with it.>

  The Spanish subspecies of Golden, which is Laurasian in its
diversity. Again, no monkeys.

  Note: I don't group the apes of Africa as land predators, active or
ambush: bonobos not withstanding, chimps and gorillas are closer to the
gatherer side of hunter--gatherer communities. Someone may contradict
me, Darren perhaps (there's always a zoologist on hand when you need
one :) ).

=====
Jaime "James" A. Headden

  Dinosaurs are horrible, terrible creatures! Even the
  fluffy ones, the snuggle-up-at-night-with ones. You think
  they're fun and sweet, but watch out for that stray tail
  spike! Down, gaston, down, boy! No, not on top of Momma!

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