The Sounds of Trees When Hit by Rocks Thrown by Chimps

What are the sounds that come from trees when those trees are hit by rocks thrown by chimpanzees? A new study addresses that question: “Chimpanzees use tree species with a resonant timbre for accumulative stone throwing,” Ammie K. Kalan, Eleonora Carmignani, Richard Kronland-Martinet, Sølvi Ystad, Jacques Chatron and Mitsuko Aramaki, Biology Letters, 18 December 2019, […]

Cheek preferences on Instagram’s chimpanzee pics [new study]

When people post pictures of chimpanzees to Instagram®, do they have a preference for choosing pictures which display the chimp’s right cheek – or the left cheek? Dr Annukka Lindell, who is a senior lecturer in psychology at the Department of Psychology and Counselling, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia, […]

Gorillas and humans, too, imitate each other

This report from Virunga National Park appears to broaden and confirm the Ig Nobel Prize-winning discovery about different kinds of animals (humans and some of our close relatives) imitating each other: The photo, posted on Instagram, bears this caption: You might have recently seen caretakers Mathieu and Patrick’s amazing selfie with female orphaned gorillas Ndakazi […]

Leisurely Chimpanzee Drumming Formally Considered

Some chimpanzees drum, and some humans analyze that: “Chimpanzee drumming: a spontaneous performance with characteristics of human musical drumming,” Valérie Dufour, Nicolas Poulin, Charlotte Curé [pictured here], and Elisabeth H.M. Sterck, Scientific Reports, vol. 5 2015. (Thanks to Elizabeth Oberzaucher for bringing this to our attention.) The authors, at the University of Strasbourg, France, at Centre […]

How to Creep Out Chimpanzees with a Humanoid Robot Doll

Chimpanzees, in general, have less experience with creepy humanoid robot dolls than humans do. This study perhaps reflects that: “Triggering social interactions: chimpanzees respond to imitation by a humanoid robot and request responses from it,” Marina Davila-Ross, Johanna Hutchinson, Jamie L. Russell, Jennifer Schaeffer, Aude Billard, William D. Hopkins, Kim A. Bard,” Animal Cognition, Volume […]