bonobos

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Florida Zoo Loses 3 Apes to Intestinal Illness
At Florida Zoo,
'Profound
Heartbreak'
for 4 Apes
UPDATED
Sep 13, 2024 12:00 AM CDT

At Florida Zoo, 'Profound Heartbreak' for 4 Apes

A 4th ape dies of shigella at Jacksonville Zoo

(Newser) - The devastating shigella outbreak at a Florida zoo has claimed a fourth victim. A 3-year-old gorilla, Kevin, has died from the bacterial ailment that first claimed his grandmother, a 35-year-old gorilla, and then a pair of bonobo brothers at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, the zoo announced Tuesday. Kevin was...

Study Upends Our Thinking on Bonobos


Study Upends
Our Thinking
on Bonobos
new study
Apr 15, 2024 11:20 AM CDT

Study Upends Our Thinking on Bonobos

They're not as peaceful as we thought, say researchers

(Newser) - Bonobos have long been thought of as "hippie chimps" in conservation circles because of their supposedly peaceful nature, notes the New York Times . A comprehensive new study, however, appears to have ended that.
  • The stats: Researchers found that male bonobos were nearly three times as likely as chimpanzees to
...

Ability to Joke Isn't Exclusive to Humans
Humans Aren't the Only
Jokers on the Planet
NEW STUDY
Feb 15, 2024 8:46 AM CST

Humans Aren't the Only Jokers on the Planet

Teasing apes suggest 'cognitive prerequisites for joking' evolved at least 13M years ago

(Newser) - You would think poking or slapping a great ape would be ill-advised. But the young chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans who tease their adult counterparts are rarely met with aggression. That's because, according to a new study, even great apes know when a joke is a joke. Researchers analyzed...

Chimps, Bonobos Recognize Friends After 25 Years Apart
It's the 'Longest-Lasting
Nonhuman Memory'
NEW STUDY
Dec 19, 2023 7:31 AM CST

It's the 'Longest-Lasting Nonhuman Memory'

Chimps, bonobos appear to recognize ex-groupmates after decades apart

(Newser) - Long-term memory goes back a long, long time: perhaps some 7 million years, according to new research on humans' closest living relatives. Researchers led by Laura Simone Lewis, a comparative psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, showed 26 bonobos and chimpanzees side-by-side images of strangers and former groupmates, including...

For First Time, Non-Humans Get COVID Vaccine
9 Great Apes Get
COVID Vaccine
Mar 5, 2021 12:07 AM CST

9 Great Apes Get COVID Vaccine

They're the first non-humans to get vaccinated

(Newser) - The San Diego Zoo has vaccinated nine great apes for the coronavirus after a troop of gorillas in its Safari Park became infected, the AP reports. Officials say four orangutans and five bonobos received COVID-19 injections in January and February, making them the first non-humans to get vaccinated against the...

Ashley Judd Details an 'Incredibly Harrowing 55 Hours'

Actress is healing from 'catastrophic' fall while doing conservation work in Democratic Republic of Congo

(Newser) - New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof had an Instagram Live chat on Friday with Ashley Judd, who was propped up in an ICU bed in a South Africa hospital. How she got there: She explained she'd had a recent "catastrophic" fall while doing conservation work tracking endangered bonobos...

That Bonobo That Likes You? It Really Thinks You're a Jerk

Scientists say this ape species appears to prefer 'hinderers' to 'helpers'

(Newser) - Scientists have long wondered about the "prosocial" activity of bonobos, noting how the apes appear to be more sharing and cooperative than other primates such as chimps, per the Los Angeles Times . But humans may still have them beat after a new study out of Duke University suggests bonobos...

Bonobos Are Closest Humans Can Get to a 'Living Ancestor'

New study finds bonobos' anatomy has more in common with humans than chimps

(Newser) - A study published this month in Scientific Reports found bonobos have more in common—anatomically speaking—with human ancestors than they do with common chimpanzees. And that's pretty interesting for modern humans. "They are the closest we can get to having a 'living' ancestor," professor of...

Bonobos Have This in Common With Human Babies

They too use identical noises that function in various contexts

(Newser) - Humans aren't the only species to speak baby talk, apparently. A new study published in the journal Peer J finds our closest living relatives communicate using high-pitched calls or "peeps" strangely similar to the sounds made by human babies before they can talk. Researcher Zanna Clay of the...

Gifts Also Rule Animal Kingdom

They offer piggyback rides, share food

(Newser) - Many species of animals are just as into gift-giving as we are, though they may be better at avoiding that last-minute shopping rush. Often, the New York Times explains, the presents are tied to mating. "This is an incredibly cool and important topic in sexual selection that we’re...

Medical Chimp-Testing May Be Over

Congress reviewing bill to ban all ape testing

(Newser) - Chimpanzees: valuable test subjects, or caged relatives who deserve better treatment? With a ban on all ape-testing now in Congress, the controversial practice dating back to the 1920s may soon be over, the New York Times reports. “Now is the time to get these chimps out of invasive research...

Our Brains Are Shrinking!
Our Brains
Are Shrinking
Jan 3, 2011 4:46 AM CST

Our Brains Are Shrinking

But do smaller brains mean we are getting dumber, or less aggressive?

(Newser) - Today's human brain is 10% smaller than that of our Cro-Magnon ancestors, but scientists are divided on whether that means we are getting smarter or dumber. Some say it does represent a dumbing down, but that our increasingly complex society means individuals don't need as much intelligence to survive and...

Chimps Shake Heads 'No'
 Chimps Shake Heads 'No' 
LIKE HUMANS...
May 6, 2010 1:07 PM CDT

Chimps Shake Heads 'No'

Scientists spot decidedly familiar gesture

(Newser) - Saying “no” by shaking our heads back and forth may just be a habit we inherited from our evolutionary precursors. Researchers have filmed Bonobo chimps at the Leipzig Zoo shaking their heads in much the same way, the BBC reports. In one film, for example, a mother shakes her...

Gorillas: Maybe Not as Gentle as We Thought

Ape vegetarian in the wild, but can turn carnivore in captivity

(Newser) - King Kong aside, gorillas have somehow been able to hold onto their reputations as gentle giants, while myths about the belligerent chimpanzee and the promiscuous bonobo have long since been dispelled. But with new research into ape behavior, the last fable may fall, the Economist reports after primatologists studied apes...

Scientists Rethink the Bonobo
Scientists Rethink the Bonobo
Jul 23, 2007 10:02 AM CDT

Scientists Rethink the Bonobo

Bonobos are not the solution to all of life's problems

(Newser) - Bonobos—the chimp cousins revered by generations of naturalists for their peaceful, playful, apparently even eco-conscious attitudes—may not be quite as groovy as we've been led to believe. Much of the cult of bonobo has been built around data from animals in captivity, where, as one scientist says, "...

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