WEBVTT 00:00:07.961 --> 00:00:10.711 Living with her family high above the ground 00:00:10.711 --> 00:00:13.720 in the northern tropical forests of Colombia, 00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:15.800 you will find Shakira, 00:00:15.800 --> 00:00:19.557 a cotton-top tamarin with a penchant for conversation. 00:00:19.557 --> 00:00:22.159 Say, "Hola!" 00:00:22.159 --> 00:00:23.732 Though you may not realize it, 00:00:23.732 --> 00:00:25.546 this one pound monkey communicates 00:00:25.546 --> 00:00:27.821 in a highly sophisticated language 00:00:27.821 --> 00:00:30.379 of 38 distinct calls 00:00:30.379 --> 00:00:35.676 based on variations of chirps and whistles. 00:00:35.676 --> 00:00:37.133 The response she just gave is 00:00:37.133 --> 00:00:38.649 known as a "B chirp", 00:00:38.649 --> 00:00:41.422 a call often directed at humans. 00:00:41.422 --> 00:00:44.356 To appreciate the complexities of Shakira's language, 00:00:44.356 --> 00:00:47.062 let's learn a few chirps and whistles, 00:00:47.062 --> 00:00:49.107 then examine how their combinations 00:00:49.107 --> 00:00:52.400 form grammatically structured sequences. 00:00:52.400 --> 00:00:54.651 The chirp Shakira used to greet us 00:00:54.651 --> 00:00:56.708 comes from a class of calls known as 00:00:56.708 --> 00:01:00.067 single frequency modulated syllables. 00:01:00.067 --> 00:01:04.057 This class is made up of short duration calls, or chirps, 00:01:04.057 --> 00:01:11.097 and long duration calls, like screams and squeals. 00:01:11.097 --> 00:01:13.457 Researchers have determined that there are eight 00:01:13.457 --> 00:01:15.809 different types of chirps categorized by 00:01:15.809 --> 00:01:22.116 stem upsweep, duration, peak frequency, and frequency change. 00:01:22.116 --> 00:01:25.868 In addition, each chirp has its own unique meaning. 00:01:25.868 --> 00:01:30.467 For example, Shakira's "C chirp" is used 00:01:30.467 --> 00:01:32.352 when she is approaching food, 00:01:32.352 --> 00:01:36.770 where as her "D chirp" is only used 00:01:36.770 --> 00:01:39.251 when she has the food in hand. 00:01:39.251 --> 00:01:43.297 Single whistles also exhibit a unique intention with each call 00:01:43.297 --> 00:01:45.475 and just as there are eight different chirps, 00:01:45.475 --> 00:01:47.656 there are five different whistles. 00:01:47.656 --> 00:01:49.328 Based on frequency modulation, 00:01:49.328 --> 00:01:53.162 single whistles are subdivided into four categories: 00:01:53.162 --> 00:01:59.616 squeaks, initially modulated whistles, 00:01:59.616 --> 00:02:05.718 terminally modulated whistles, and flat whistles. 00:02:05.718 --> 00:02:07.736 The language's quality of unique intention 00:02:07.736 --> 00:02:09.713 is wonderfully exemplified by the category 00:02:09.713 --> 00:02:12.463 of initially modulated whistles. 00:02:12.463 --> 00:02:14.695 These whistles change based on the proximity 00:02:14.695 --> 00:02:17.954 of Shakira to other members of her family. 00:02:17.954 --> 00:02:21.018 If Shakira is greater than .6 meters from her family, 00:02:21.018 --> 00:02:25.768 she'll sound a large initally modulated whistle. 00:02:25.768 --> 00:02:28.573 But if she's less than .6 meters from her family, 00:02:28.573 --> 00:02:33.071 she'll sound a small initially modulated whistle. 00:02:33.071 --> 00:02:35.069 Now that we've learned a few chirps and whistles, 00:02:35.069 --> 00:02:37.309 Shakira wants to show off by taking you 00:02:37.309 --> 00:02:40.804 through a quick day in her life with these calls. 00:02:40.804 --> 00:02:44.076 While heading towards a feeding tree for her first meal of the day, 00:02:44.076 --> 00:02:46.611 she says, (monkey noise), 00:02:46.611 --> 00:02:50.583 a call most often used in relaxed investigations. 00:02:50.583 --> 00:02:54.499 However, suddenly she spots the shadow of a hawk. 00:02:54.499 --> 00:02:57.039 "E chirp" for alarm. 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:00.362 This call alerts her family to the presence of this predator, 00:03:00.362 --> 00:03:03.531 and Shakira jumps to the safety of an inner branch. 00:03:03.531 --> 00:03:05.141 The coast seems clear, 00:03:05.141 --> 00:03:07.751 so Shakira makes her way towards her dad. 00:03:07.751 --> 00:03:09.429 Wait, wait. Who is that? 00:03:09.429 --> 00:03:12.130 Ah, it's her younger brother, Carlos. 00:03:12.130 --> 00:03:15.452 Cotton-top tamarins often squeal during play wrestling. 00:03:15.452 --> 00:03:21.243 Uh-oh. He's playing a little too roughly, and Shakira screams, 00:03:21.243 --> 00:03:23.478 alerting her parents to help her. 00:03:23.478 --> 00:03:26.396 Her dad makes his way towards the ball of rolling fur 00:03:26.396 --> 00:03:28.036 and her brother stops. 00:03:28.036 --> 00:03:29.219 Shakira shakes herself 00:03:29.219 --> 00:03:31.210 and scratches herself to get the hair on her head 00:03:31.210 --> 00:03:33.055 back in place. 00:03:33.055 --> 00:03:36.714 Then Shakira spots another group of unfamiliar tamarins 00:03:36.714 --> 00:03:39.205 and hears their normal long call. 00:03:39.205 --> 00:03:42.981 She turns to her family. (Monkey noise) 00:03:42.981 --> 00:03:47.079 Did you catch that? First there was a chirp, then a whistle. 00:03:47.079 --> 00:03:50.074 This is what's known as a combination vocalization, 00:03:50.074 --> 00:03:53.758 a phrase that contains both a chirp and a whistle. 00:03:53.758 --> 00:03:57.739 These are two calls strung together to convey a message. 00:03:57.739 --> 00:03:59.922 The combination of these two elements 00:03:59.922 --> 00:04:02.455 alerts her family to the presence of another group, 00:04:02.455 --> 00:04:05.964 the "F chirp", and the distance they are away, 00:04:05.964 --> 00:04:07.826 the normal long call whistle. 00:04:07.826 --> 00:04:11.073 In other words, Shakira just said a sentence. 00:04:11.073 --> 00:04:14.280 Her simple demonstration is just the tip of the iceberg. 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:18.715 She's got trills, chatters, multiple whistle calls, 00:04:18.715 --> 00:04:23.390 more combination vocalizations, even twitters. 00:04:23.390 --> 00:04:26.060 Yet sadly enough, we may not get to hear 00:04:26.060 --> 00:04:28.324 everything she has to say. 00:04:28.324 --> 00:04:31.289 Mixed in with chirping sonatas from high above 00:04:31.289 --> 00:04:35.056 is the constant thud of a machete chopping trees. 00:04:35.056 --> 00:04:37.855 Shakira's habitat in Colombia is being cut down, 00:04:37.855 --> 00:04:39.466 piece by piece, 00:04:39.466 --> 00:04:40.814 and if we don't work to protect 00:04:40.814 --> 00:04:43.331 the critically endangered cotton-top tamarin, 00:04:43.331 --> 00:04:46.089 it will become extinct in our lifetime. 00:04:46.089 --> 00:04:48.099 If the chirp from one tamarin to the next 00:04:48.099 --> 00:04:51.030 has proven to be more than just idle chit chat, 00:04:51.030 --> 00:04:53.793 imagine what else we have left to discover. 00:04:53.793 --> 00:04:56.294 Imagine what else Shakira can tell us.