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Living with her family high above the ground
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in the northern tropical forests of Colombia,
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you will find Shakira,
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a cotton-top tamarin with a penchant for conversation.
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Say, "Hola!"
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Though you may not realize it,
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this one pound monkey communicates
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in a highly sophisticated language
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of 38 distinct calls
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based on variations of chirps and whistles.
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The response she just gave is
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known as a "B chirp",
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a call often directed at humans.
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To appreciate the complexities of Shakira's language,
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let's learn a few chirps and whistles,
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then examine how their combinations
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form grammatically structured sequences.
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The chirp Shakira used to greet us
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comes from a class of calls known as
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single frequency modulated syllables.
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This class is made up of short duration calls, or chirps,
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and long duration calls, like screams and squeals.
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Researchers have determined that there are eight
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different types of chirps categorized by
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stem upsweep, duration, peak frequency, and frequency change.
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In addition, each chirp has its own unique meaning.
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For example, Shakira's "C chirp" is used
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when she is approaching food,
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where as her "D chirp" is only used
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when she has the food in hand.
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Single whistles also exhibit a unique intention with each call
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and just as there are eight different chirps,
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there are five different whistles.
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Based on frequency modulation,
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single whistles are subdivided into four categories:
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squeaks, initially modulated whistles,
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terminally modulated whistles, and flat whistles.
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The language's quality of unique intention
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is wonderfully exemplified by the category
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of initially modulated whistles.
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These whistles change based on the proximity
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of Shakira to other members of her family.
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If Shakira is greater than .6 meters from her family,
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she'll sound a large initally modulated whistle.
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But if she's less than .6 meters from her family,
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she'll sound a small initially modulated whistle.
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Now that we've learned a few chirps and whistles,
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Shakira wants to show off by taking you
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through a quick day in her life with these calls.
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While heading towards a feeding tree for her first meal of the day,
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she says, (monkey noise),
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a call most often used in relaxed investigations.
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However, suddenly she spots the shadow of a hawk.
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"E chirp" for alarm.
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This call alerts her family to the presence of this predator,
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and Shakira jumps to the safety of an inner branch.
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The coast seems clear,
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so Shakira makes her way towards her dad.
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Wait, wait. Who is that?
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Ah, it's her younger brother, Carlos.
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Cotton-top tamarins often squeal during play wrestling.
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Uh-oh. He's playing a little too roughly, and Shakira screams,
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alerting her parents to help her.
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Her dad makes his way towards the ball of rolling fur
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and her brother stops.
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Shakira shakes herself
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and scratches herself to get the hair on her head
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back in place.
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Then Shakira spots another group of unfamiliar tamarins
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and hears their normal long call.
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She turns to her family. (Monkey noise)
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Did you catch that? First there was a chirp, then a whistle.
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This is what's known as a combination vocalization,
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a phrase that contains both a chirp and a whistle.
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These are two calls strung together to convey a message.
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The combination of these two elements
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alerts her family to the presence of another group,
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the "F chirp", and the distance they are away,
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the normal long call whistle.
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In other words, Shakira just said a sentence.
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Her simple demonstration is just the tip of the iceberg.
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She's got trills, chatters, multiple whistle calls,
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more combination vocalizations, even twitters.
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Yet sadly enough, we may not get to hear
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everything she has to say.
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Mixed in with chirping sonatas from high above
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is the constant thud of a machete chopping trees.
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Shakira's habitat in Colombia is being cut down,
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piece by piece,
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and if we don't work to protect
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the critically endangered cotton-top tamarin,
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it will become extinct in our lifetime.
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If the chirp from one tamarin to the next
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has proven to be more than just idle chit chat,
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imagine what else we have left to discover.
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Imagine what else Shakira can tell us.