Chimpanzees are 'smart' like people

In 2009, Chimp Santino at the Furuvik Zoo in Sweden was known to the world for his outstanding evolutionary behavior. Cameras have captured images of Santino collecting stones and storing them in niches.

Even this chimpanzee uses his hands to beat concrete slabs into small stones. These stones are used by Santino as bullets to throw at visitors at the zoo. This behavior represents planning and preparing for the future of chimpanzees, which scientists claim is only human.

Chimpanzee Santino

However, a research team at Lund University recently discovered more interesting things. Not only do he plan to collect rock and "build" bullets, Santino also found an innovative way to deceive visitors.

Based on data recorded by Santino's entire behavior in 2010, the researchers stated that the animal continues and extends previous smart behaviors. The special thing that the research team discovered is that Santino has done the work of collecting and hiding stones when it is out of sight of visitors.

Zoo staff must regularly guide visitors away from the objects Santino is trying to throw. When they were out of sight, it was when this clever chimp hid other stones into the haystack, which Santino had moved to near the fence earlier, in preparation for the next throw.

Tracking for a long time, researchers found this sequence of behaviors has become a favorite strategy for Santino. That indicates that chimpanzees can create a flexible plan, which is basically like a human being, based on the creative combination of remembering what happened and anticipating what is about to happen.