For First Time, Scientists Have Observed African Monkeys Eating Bats
- 8 years ago
A new study led by Florida Atlantic University describes incidents of monkeys in Africa eating bats and having prolonged contact with the carcasses; bats are known to carry diseases such as the Ebola virus, and this predator-prey situation may ultimately enable infection to humans.
More than 60 percent of infectious diseases contracted by humans are believed to be zoonotic, or transmitted from animals, and scientists now have a better understanding of how that chain of events might occur.
According to a news release by Florida Atlantic University, researchers in Tanzania and Kenya saw that the Cercopithecus monkeys, they were studying “opportunistically preyed on bats.”
In fact, the primates were observed “both handling and eating bats.”
They also appeared to have extended contac
More than 60 percent of infectious diseases contracted by humans are believed to be zoonotic, or transmitted from animals, and scientists now have a better understanding of how that chain of events might occur.
According to a news release by Florida Atlantic University, researchers in Tanzania and Kenya saw that the Cercopithecus monkeys, they were studying “opportunistically preyed on bats.”
In fact, the primates were observed “both handling and eating bats.”
They also appeared to have extended contac