Chimpanzee News - Biology and Behaviour

When we notice somebody pointing at something, we automatically look in the direction of the gesture. In humans, the ability to understand this type of gesturing (known as declarative communication) may seem to be an automatic response, but it is actually a sign of sophisticated communication behavior. Numerous studies have tried to determine if great apes (for example, chimpanzees and bonobos) are able to understand declarative communication, but results have been mixed.

Psychological scientists Heidi Lyn and William Hopkins from Agnes Scott College and Jamie Russell from the Yerkes National Primate Research Center examined if exposure to different human communicative environments would affect understanding of declarative signals in chimpanzees and bonobos. Three groups of apes were tested in this study. One group consisted of chimpanzees that had been raised in standard laboratory housing; although they had regular contact with humans, these interactions were limited to basic animal-care contexts such as feeding.

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The discovery of stone tools from places like Brixham Cave in England and France's Somme Valley confirmed that industry was a very old human enterprise, and so some scholars naturally felt quite comfortable in giving out species the honorary title of "Man the Toolmaker." The ability of our species to make and use tools clearly separated us from all other organisms, at least until it was discovered that chimpanzees, too, made and used tools. More than that, studies since the 1960's have confirmed that different populations of chimpanzees have distinctive tool cultures affected by the contingencies of their surroundings, and a recent study published two years ago in PNAS illustrates that these cultures of tool use among non-human primates stretch back at least 4,300 years.

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Pointing study supports and expands on Great Ape Trust assertion that the success of language studies with bonobos is tied to rearing

You may have more in common with Kanzi, Panbanisha and Nyota, three language-competent bonobos living at Great Ape Trust, than you thought. And those similarities, right at your fingertip, might one day tell scientists more about the effect of culture on neurological disorders that limit human expression.

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Chimpanzees are intelligent enough to appreciate how big a pint of liquid is, or the volume of any other measure.

That shows they have an ability to gauge the difference between continuous quantities, such as a pint or half pint of non-alcoholic fruit juice.

Previously, apes have only been known to differentiate discrete quantities, such as eight sweets over five.

That means chimps are more intelligent than we thought, and shows they have a basic grasp of the physics of liquids. Details of the discovery are published in the journal Animal Cognition.

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New research suggests that the act of voluntarily sharing something with another may not be entirely exclusive to the human experience. A study published in the March 9th issue of Current Biology, observed that bonobos -- a sister species of chimpanzees and, like chimps, our closest living relatives -- consistently chose to actively share their food with others.

"It has been suggested that only humans voluntarily share their food," says lead study author Brian Hare from Duke University in North Carolina. "However, the food sharing preferences of the unusually tolerant bonobos have never been studied experimentally." Dr. Hare and Suzy Kwetuenda from the Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary for orphaned bonobos in the Democratic Republic of the Congo conducted a study with unrelated pairs of hungry bonobos.

Wild bonobo mother ape eats own infant in DR Congo

A wild bonobo has been seen cannibalising her own recently deceased two and a half-year-old infant.

Among apes, such behaviour is extremely rare, only being reported before among orangutans, and never by bonobos, our closest relative alongside chimps.

Though uncommon, the behaviour may not be aberrant, says the scientist who witnessed it.

But it does further challenge a widely perceived notion that bonobos are an especially "peaceful" ape species.

The discovery is reported in the American Journal of Primatology.

Bonobos (Pan paniscus) were once known as pygmy chimps, due to their similarities with the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), from which they diverged in the past one million years.

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Virtually innocent of human contact, the chimps of Congo's Goualougo Triangle display a sharp curiosity about us—and a sophisticated culture of toolmaking observed nowhere else.

A few years ago, while setting up camp deep in the Congolese rain forest, Dave Morgan and Crickette Sanz heard a party of male chimpanzees vocalizing raucously in the distance. The hoots grew louder, and they could tell the group was moving rapidly through the canopy.

The chimps, they realized, were headed straight for their camp and would soon be nearly on top of them. Then, just as the group seemed to be closing its distance to a few dozen yards, the forest went silent. A few seconds passed before Sanz and Morgan heard a gentle hoo from a tree almost directly above them. They looked up and saw a perplexed adult chimp peering down.

New research suggests that evolutionary changes in cognitive development underlie the extensive social and behavioral differences that exist between two closely related species of great apes. The study, published online on January 28th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, enhances our understanding of our two closest living relatives, chimpanzees and the lesser-known bonobos, and may provide key insight into human evolution.

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But these chimpanzees are clearly set for a more lucrative career after becoming the first of their species to make their own film using a special video camera.

The 11 chimps at Edinburgh Zoo were given the camera in a box to record just how they view the world and were taught how to use video touch screens to help them finish the films.

The innovative project saw the hairy directors go through several trials as they made experienced power struggles, bites and fights during the filming.

Some of the footage taken was impressive according to researchers at the zoo's Budongo trail, a state-of-the-art chimpanzee facility that links the excitement of seeing the animals close-up with wildlife conservation, science, education and research.

A group of chimpanzees have been photographed seemingly grieving for the death of one of their own in Cameroon.

More than a dozen chimps stand in silence watching from behind their wire enclosure as Dorothy, a chimp in her late 40s who died of heart failure, is wheeled past them.

The chimps are from the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon. Locals from the village work as "care-givers" for the orphaned animals whose mothers were all killed for the illegal bushmeat trade.

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Bonobos look like graceful versions of chimpanzees. They are entirely tree dwelling, don’t make tools and primitive war as chimpanzees do, or engage in hunting monkeys for meat.

“Bonobos have more style,” says Frans B. M. de Waal in a 1995 article in Scientific American, “Bonobo Sex and Society” They were one of the last large mammals to be discovered by science, and were at first thought to be juvenile chimps. However, though they belong to the same genus (Pan), they’re a distinct species (paniscus).

As much as chimpanzees, bonobos show the greatest capacity for self-awareness other than humans, being able to recognize themselves in mirrors and learn sign language.

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Chimpanzees' Caring Behavior Toward Others Hints at the Emotion's Antiquity; the Mystery of the Contagious Yawn

A pioneer in primate studies, Frans de Waal sees our better side in chimps, especially our capacity for empathy. In his research, Dr. de Waal has gathered ample evidence that our ability to identify with another's distress -- a catalyst for compassion and charity -- has deep roots in the origin of our species. It is a view independently reinforced by recent biomedical studies showing that our brains are built to feel another's pain.

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A recent study documents the severe emotional trauma chimpanzees suffer as a result of laboratory use and confinement. Developmental Context Effects on Bicultural Post-Trauma Self Repair in Chimpanzees was published in the September issue, Vol. 45 (5), of the American Psychological Association journal Developmental Psychology.

Psychologists G.A. Bradshaw, Ph.D., Ph.D., Theodora Capaldo, Ed.D., Lorin Lindner, Ph.D., and Gloria Grow, Fauna sanctuary director, examined the case histories of three chimpanzees -- Billy Jo, Tom, and Regis -- all used in research before rescue into sanctuary. The study underscores the ethical implications of cross-fostering nonhuman primates and their use in research.

Computer animations stimulate contagious yawning in chimpanzees, according to a new study.

The research provides the world's first direct evidence that a non-human animal can empathize with an animated fictional depiction.

Since the compulsion to yawn after watching another individual yawn is not a conscious decision, the study suggests even non-living representations of humans and animals can affect the emotions and certain subsequent actions of humans and chimps at a subconscious level.

Prior research has found that children who play violent video games may act in a more violent manner later. In this case, however, the experiment just led to a lot of relaxed chimps.

Chimp infants are more in control of their emotions and behaviour than their human counterparts, research suggests. Baby chimpanzees have 16 'smile configurations' compared with 13 in baby humans.

A study found that, like human babies, newborn chimpanzees can laugh with joy or become fractious.

Professor Kim Bard, from the University of Portsmouth, said: "Chimps don't get colic, they don't get unconsolable crying, they only cry for a reason, and usually when you pick them up they don't fuss any more.

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Photo: PA