Còn đòi xôi gấc ư

Researchers have found they are also skilled at judging (phán xét) which items their victims (nạn nhân) value the most and using this information to maximise their profit.

Shrewd (thông minh) macaques prefer to target items that humans are most likely to exchange for food, such as electronics (đồ điện tử), rather than objects that tourists care less about, such as hairpins (kẹp tóc) or empty camera bags (túi đựng máy ảnh rỗng), said Dr Jean-Baptiste Leca, an associate professor in the psychology (tâm lý học) department at the University of Lethbridge in Canada and lead author of the study.

Mobile phones, wallets and prescription glasses (kính theo toa) are among the high-value possessions the monkeys aim to steal. “These monkeys have become experts at snatching (chộp lấy) them from absent-minded (đãng trí) tourists who didn’t listen to the temple staff’s recommendations to keep all valuables inside zipped handbags firmly tied around their necks and backs,” said Leca.

After spending more than 273 days filming interactions between the animals and temple visitors, researchers found that the macaques would demand better rewards – such as more food – for higher-valued items.

Bargaining between a monkey robber, tourist and a temple staff member quite often lasted several minutes. The longest wait before an item was returned was 25 minutes, including 17 minutes of negotiation. For lower-valued items, the monkeys were more likely to conclude successful bartering (trao đổi hàng hóa) sessions by accepting a lesser reward.