A wild chimpanzee has been spotted doing something previously thought to be unique to humans. The animal was caught engaging in behaviour never before seen in primates - and scientists say the finding could shed fresh light on how human beings' minds have evolved.
An adult female chimpanzee, Fiona, was filmed on video showing a leaf to her mother, Sutherland, in Kibale Forest, Uganda. According to researchers, the chimp was displaying the object simply for sharing’s sake - which could indicate that in certain social conditions, wild chimpanzees can share experiences with each other, using gestures in order to comment or remark on the world.
Lead author of the study, Dr Claudia Wilke from the Department of Psychology at the University of York, said: “People love sharing experiences with each other. Social media capitalises on this trait, and even in our first year of life we start to show others interesting things we’ve found.
