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#chimpanzees

0 posts0 participants0 posts today
michael

29-Jul-2025
How much time did our ancestors spend up trees? Studying these #chimpanzees might help us find out
A study on savannah-living chimpanzees suggests the need to move safely on thin tree branches could explain why early #hominins that could walk upright kept their tree-climbing adaptations

eurekalert.org/news-releases/1

EurekAlert!How much time did our ancestors spend up trees? Studying these chimpanzees might help us find outA new study on savannah-living chimpanzees could help answer some of paleoanthropology’s oldest questions about the origins of walking on two legs. Some theories suggest that the spread of savannahs pushed hominins to walk upright on the ground, a more efficient way to move in this environment. But many early hominins are still well-adapted for climbing. The study found that chimpanzees living in a savannah-mosaic environment continued foraging in trees, and spent most time in trees foraging for the most abundant or nutritious foods. These results suggest that those arboreal adaptations remained critical for early hominins’ survival after bipedalism appeared. They might even have contributed to the development of walking on two feet.  
#science#primates#evolution
*
Radical Anthropology

Nice discussion of the #Feldblum et al paper on effects on reproduction of #female #alliance, even if they are not related as among #chimpanzees.

Author suggests:
'Human females who don’t have access to kin — for example because they moved to a new city or village — are still able to form strong bonds that can benefit them. Studying these social dynamics in chimpanzees can help us understand how we evolved to be the social, cooperative species we are today.”'

We need to remember tho that among African hunter-gatherers initial #matrilocality (females stay with Mum) is default. And maternal grandmothers would have been pretty vital for evolution of babysitting (wot made us human). But yes women have no trouble with organizing transpatial alliances among nonrelatives!

#kinship #cooperation #femalecoalitions #fitness

trinity.duke.edu/news/it-takes

Trinity College of Arts & SciencesIt Takes a Village: Chimpanzee Babies Do Better When Their Moms Have Social ConnectionsIn chimpanzee communities, strong social ties can be a matter of life and death not just for the adults who form them, but for their kids, too.A new federally-funded study of wild eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) from Gombe National Park shows that female chimpanzees who were more socially integrated with other females in the year before giving birth were more likely to raise surviving offspring.
Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬

5yr study suggests #chimpanzees strike stones against trees as form of #communication
Research team collected video footage at five distinct locations within a nature reserve in Guinea-Bissau. Using camera traps and with essential support from local field guides. In specific areas, a striking behavioral pattern was observed: adult male chimpanzees repeatedly struck stones against tree trunks, resulting in characteristic piles of stones at the base of these trees.
phys.org/news/2025-05-year-chi

Phys.org · Five-year study suggests chimpanzees strike stones against trees as form of communicationBy Wageningen University
Richard Michael Blaber

theconversation.com/why-many-a. "According to thinktank Pew Research Center data from 2020, only 64% of #Americans accept that '#humans & other living things have evolved over time'. Meanwhile, 73% of #Britons are fine with the idea that they share a common ancestor with #chimpanzees." Why do so many Americans have such a hard time accepting basic #science, preferring #religious #fundamentalism, @GeraldKutney? This is a soil in which #climatechange denial flourishes.

The ConversationWhy many Americans still think Darwin was wrong, yet the British don’t
More from The Conversation UK
Mongabay

The more we try to understand chimpanzees, one of our closest relatives, the more we find ourselves humbled by the richness and complexity of their lives — and of their intelligence.

Today, on World Chimpanzee Day, we look back at some of the latest studies that reveal facets of these great apes’ long, powerful memories.

By Shreya Dasgupta
news.mongabay.com/short-articl

Mongabay Environmental News · World Chimpanzee Day: the strength — and fragility — of chimp memoryThe more we try to understand chimpanzees, one of our closest relatives, the more we find ourselves humbled by the richness and complexity of their lives — and of their intelligence. Today, on World Chimpanzee Day, we look back at some of the latest studies that reveal facets of these great apes’ long, powerful memories. […]
#News#Conservation#Environment
michael

8-Jul-2025
A pointless #fashion trend? #Chimpanzees wear blades of grass in their ears and rears
Insights into evolutionary origins culture

eurekalert.org/news-releases/1

EurekAlert!A pointless fashion trend? Chimpanzees wear blades of grass in their ears and rearsA team of researchers from Utrecht University, Durham University, and other institutions observed something remarkable at a chimpanzee sanctuary in Zambia. Several chimpanzees from one particular group were seen dangling blades of grass from their ear holes or their behinds, for no apparent reason. The behaviour was not seen in other chimpanzee groups at the same sanctuary, despite similar living conditions. “This shows that, like humans, other animals also copy seemingly pointless behaviours from one another,” says Utrecht University researcher Edwin van Leeuwen. “And that, in turn, may offer insights into the evolutionary roots of human culture.”
#science#behaviour#primates
N-gated Hacker News

🐒🤖 In today's groundbreaking #research, scientists discovered that #chimpanzees, much like bored humans, yawn when watching #robots pretend to yawn. Because, obviously, if there's anything more riveting than watching paint dry, it's observing a soulless android try to act tired. 🔬🎉
nature.com/articles/s41598-025 #yawning #humor #science #HackerNews #ngated

NatureChimpanzees yawn when observing an android yawn - Scientific ReportsThis study explores contagious yawning in adult chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the presence of a non-biological humanoid agent, an android. Chimpanzees observed an android portraying specific facial expressions, including yawns and gapes. The results showed that adult chimpanzees exhibited across-agent yawn contagion, with a graded response: the highest contagion occurred when the android displayed a fully wide-open mouth (Yawn condition), a reduced response when the mouth was partially opened (Gape condition), and no contagion when the android’s mouth was closed (Close condition). Additionally, chimpanzees engaged in behaviours associated with drowsiness, such as gathering bedding materials, constructing nests, and lying down, while observing the android yawning. This suggests that yawning by an unfamiliar model may act as a contextual cue for rest, rather than merely triggering a motor resonance response. These findings contribute to the understanding of non-human primates’ susceptibility to contagiously induced behaviours, specifically yawns, even when triggered by an artificial agent. This study highlights the role of social factors in shaping yawn contagion and calls for further research on cross-species and cross-agent interactions.
Hacker News

Chimpanzees yawn when observing an Android yawn

nature.com/articles/s41598-025

NatureChimpanzees yawn when observing an android yawn - Scientific ReportsThis study explores contagious yawning in adult chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the presence of a non-biological humanoid agent, an android. Chimpanzees observed an android portraying specific facial expressions, including yawns and gapes. The results showed that adult chimpanzees exhibited across-agent yawn contagion, with a graded response: the highest contagion occurred when the android displayed a fully wide-open mouth (Yawn condition), a reduced response when the mouth was partially opened (Gape condition), and no contagion when the android’s mouth was closed (Close condition). Additionally, chimpanzees engaged in behaviours associated with drowsiness, such as gathering bedding materials, constructing nests, and lying down, while observing the android yawning. This suggests that yawning by an unfamiliar model may act as a contextual cue for rest, rather than merely triggering a motor resonance response. These findings contribute to the understanding of non-human primates’ susceptibility to contagiously induced behaviours, specifically yawns, even when triggered by an artificial agent. This study highlights the role of social factors in shaping yawn contagion and calls for further research on cross-species and cross-agent interactions.
#HackerNews#Chimpanzees#Android
James Huff :prami_pride:

"Together with JGI Austria, we’ve focused on a crucial #reforestation aspect of the broader project. Our pledge of $100,000 over three years will enable JGI Tanzania to continue its work, saving 360,000 seedlings, and preserving local jobs dedicated to their care. It will ensure 20 tree nurseries can continue growing endemic, native species, including valuable food sources such as avocado, lemon and mango. Once planted, the #trees will restore large areas of cleared #forest and provide migration corridors and essential habitats for endangered species, including #chimpanzees."

blog.ecosia.org/doge-defunded-

The Ecosia Blog · DOGE defunded Jane Goodall’s Tanzania project–we’re pledging $100kDOGE-driven cuts to USAID funding stalled a conservation project in Tanzania. We’ve partnered with the Jane Goodall Institute to continue reforestation.
Radical Anthropology

Socially integrated female #chimpanzees have reduced offspring mortality in East African wild communities.

'We find that females that were more socially integrated with other females in the year before giving birth had higher offspring survival to age 1 (the period of highest mortality) and age 5 (the approximate age of weaning). Furthermore, social integration remained a strong predictor of offspring survival among females without close female kin.'

#greatapes #socialbonds #females

cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S25

Radical Anthropology

Study of tool use by elderly #chimpanzees in Bossou, Guinea. Looking at archive footage of wild chimpanzees engaging in one of their most complex forms of tool use - the cracking of hard-shelled nuts with hammers and anvil stones. Extent of age-related change in tool engagement and efficiency was very variable.

#senescence #primates #greatapes #lifehistory

elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre

elifesciences.orgOld age variably impacts chimpanzee engagement and efficiency in stone tool use
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