Chimp also lives in caves like prehistoric people

Desert chimpanzees, in addition to being able to create weapons to hunt other primates, can also find shelter in caves like the ancestors of prehistoric humans.

A new study finds chimpanzees trying to hide in caves to avoid the extreme heat of Africa. Jill Pruetz, a primate expert at Iowa State University in Ames and her colleagues, studied desert chimpanzees, often residing in the periphery corresponding to the place where human ancestors had appeared. .

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Researchers have investigated a community of 35 chimpanzees in Southeastern Senegal, one of the hottest and driest habitats of chimpanzees today. They found that the community could create marks to hunt other primates such as long-tail big-eyed monkeys.

Professor Pruetz said studying on a large area is really a challenge, and it is normal to go on a week or 10 days without seeing chimpanzees, sometimes feeling very uncomfortable. especially in the dry season when heat is the problem of both chimpanzees and humans.

Research on the ability of chimpanzees to find a starting place when her assistant Mboule Camara saw the apes coming out of Sakoto Cave one of the largest caves in the habitat of chimpanzees, the deep cave more than 15 feet (1 foot = 30.48 cm) and lying narrow ravines formed with water flowing down from the plateau.

The male chimp is near a cave
(Photo: LiveScience)

To determine why they could use the cave, Professor Pruetz recorded data on cave temperatures as well as other chimpanzee habitats such as in the forest and steppe. The results show that chimpanzees almost use the cave to reside during the hottest and driest times of the year from October to May. The study will be detailed in the upcoming issue of the Primates journal , here. is the first research paper on chimpanzee's ability to find a residence.

Cold over 10 ^o

Dr. Pruetz said that between 2001 and 2004, the average temperature in the cave was about 75.5 degrees Fahrenheit, compared with 85.2 degrees in the forest area and 76.2 degrees in the steppe, both of which held at the edge of the Sakoto ravine and 100 feet tall from the cave, and maybe the steppe area is cooler due to the wind

Research shows that chimpanzees bring food, eat in caves and groom, they occasionally come out and relax, they are almost in the cave all day except at night.

In a meeting about chimpanzees in the cave in Japan, Pruetz said everyone was surprised about it, they didn't seem to have heard about it except Jane Goodall, she offered. wanting to do research with Pruetz and provide data on chimpanzee research in Mali, they were also surprised to see a herd out of the cave.

According to Pruetz, this is seen as the first discovery of science about chimpanzees in caves.

Civilization of chimpanzees

The prehistoric Adrienne Zihlman of the University of California in Santa Cruz said the chimpanzees are facing the living conditions that most other species of the same species do not face. They can only solve the problem if they want to survive in the desert and face the problems that our ancestors have ever met.

Biologist Rob Shumaker of the Largest Ape Research Center in Des Moines Iowa added that these findings point to the range of behavioral and cognitive flexibility of chimpanzees. The results were not seen in chimpanzees in other locations, emphasizing the idea that there is a difference in chimpanzees in different locations. However, they continue to surprise the new behavior of this species.

Anh Phuong