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The coded message sent by orangutan mums’ noisy scratching

Scratches signal to youngsters that they need to get a move on.
Sumatran Orangutan, female baby, named Sandri, with her twenty-two year old mother, named Sandra,

Mother orangutans scratch themselves loudly to invite their young offspring aboard for an imminent departure. Credit: Minden/Alamy

When it’s time to get moving, mothers can be very no-nonsense. The same is true of orangutan mothers: when ready to relocate, they vigorously scratch themselves to tell their infants to follow.

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Nature 571, 451 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-02178-3

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