Posted on 05/17/2012 7:27:36 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
Deceptive Chimp Hides Ammo, Blasts Unsuspecting Zoo Visitors
- (Santino just 1 second before the throw.)
A chimp that creates hiding places for rocks he throws at zoo visitors reveals for the first time that humanity's closest living relatives can plan to deceive, researchers say.
These findings could shed light on the evolution of higher mental functions such as planning, investigators added.
The chimpanzee known as Santino is the dominant male of his group at Furuvik Zoo in Sweden. Intriguingly, past research showed the ape calmly gathered stones from his enclosure's moat and pieces of concrete he pulled off an artificial island into stockpiles he later hurled at zoo visitors an instance of spontaneous planning for a future event, a mental ability once widely thought limited to humans.
"A lot of great apes, especially dominant males, throw things at human bystanders," said researcher Mathias Osvath, a comparative cognitive scientist and scientific director of Lund University's Primate Research Station Furuvik in Sweden. "It is most often part of their dominance displays and an effective way to make people move, which is the main purpose of a display. Other individuals are supposed to move during such displays to accept the dominance."
Santino doesn't throw stones at Osvath or others that he knows.
"He never hits anyone, so protective gear is not necessary," Osvath said. "We know each other, and we often play. I don't have to be particularly cautious, more than never forgetting that they are extremely strong animals who can cause serious damage to you if they want to."
Now scientists find Santino appears even more foresighted and innovative than previously thought. The ape conceals his weapon caches, showing that chimpanzees are capable of even more complex planning than once known.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Naw, if he were a democrat he would thrown poo.
Heck, when I was in grade school, we had a field trip to the zoo, and I distinctly recall a chimp doing funny things to get us to come near the edge, and then he whipped around an grabbed a big handful of dung and flung it out, hitting Steve Polski right in the chest!
Mark
“Intriguingly, past research showed the ape calmly gathered stones from his enclosure’s moat and pieces of concrete he pulled off an artificial island into stockpiles he later hurled at zoo visitors an instance of spontaneous planning for a future event, a mental ability once widely thought limited to humans.”
Whoa...this is interesting. Apparently, I am a great ape, too! I love hurling things at people with whom I don’t agree.
And, I have my own weapon caches.
Wow!
“Chimps: G-d’s little B team if we do ourselves in.”
I’m going to be just fine. ;o)
I suspect that after giving him an Italian name it was only natural for him to become deceptive.
You’ll be fine; I’m going to stockpile bananas.
How unsavory.
--H.L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920
LOL!!!
What retaliation? How often are Palestinians retaliated against over rock throwing?
If a few Pali rock throwers got rock-salt shotgun blasts in the crotch, I guarantee you the rock throwing would stop.
So it’s been said time and time again that man comes from apes.
But were did the apes come from?
Cats? Dogs? Squirrels? Mice? Gila Monsters? Geckos? Cranes? Storks? Dolphins? Whales? Gar?
Mommy and Daddy apes, who loved each other very much.
Didn't exactly turn out well for the other Santino.
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