Chimps outwit humans

[Bobbie Ireland]

I seem to be finding lots of primate/behaviour stories these days... always fascinating.


Wild chimps outwit human hunters
Matt Walker, Editor, Earth News

Wild chimpanzees are learning how to outwit human hunters. Across Africa, people often lay snare traps to catch bushmeat, killing or injuring chimps and other wildlife. But a few chimps living in the rainforests of Guinea have learnt to recognise these snare traps laid by human hunters, researchers have found. More astonishing, the chimps actively seek out and intentionally deactivate the traps, setting them off without being harmed.

The discovery was serendipitously made by primatologists Mr Gaku Ohashi and Professor Tetsuro Matsuzawa who were following chimps living in Bossou, Guinea to study the apes' social behaviour...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8962000/8962747.stm

[Bird Crazy]

  woo hoo good for the chimps and next they will learn to change the bait for Snickers bars and then watch out