Chimpanzees watch their relatives with interest on Zoom.
In two Czech cities, Brno and Dvura Králové nad Labem, during the coronavirus period, zoo administrations decided to “revive” pets using broadcasts from other enclosures of their relatives. The chimpanzees didn’t immediately realize that the broadcasts were virtual, but they soon began to treat Zoom like a TV show.
During the broadcast, chimpanzees differentiate interesting information and are more attracted to it.
Previously, scientists found that chimpanzees are capable of self-awareness and can understand when they are “right” and when they are “wrong.” Chimpanzees, just like six-year-old children, want to watch their offender be punished, and are able to solve quite complex problems at the level of four-year-old children.
British and German psychologists and ethologists from the University of St. Andrews have found that human children under two years of age use the same gestures as apes. And scientists from the University of Edinburgh reported that friendly male chimpanzees live longer than their aggressive counterparts.