Chimpanzees have 'at least 66 distinct gestures' they use to talk to each other

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Communicative: Chimpanzees have at least 66 different mannerisms that they use to talk to each other, according to researchers


Wild chimpanzees use more than twice the number of gestures to communicate than previously thought, scientists have said.

The animals have at least 66 different mannerisms that they use to talk to each other, according to researchers from the University Of St Andrews in Scotland.

It was previously thought that chimpanzees had just 30 distinct gestures, although this figure was arrived at following observations of animals in captivity.


At play: The scientists found that the chimpanzees clearly beckoned to each other and behaved remarkably like humans at times


'You wouldn't see them hunting for monkeys, taking females away on "courtships", or encountering neighbouring groups of chimpanzees.'

The team spent so long in the chimps' company that they got to know each other and the animals 'got on with their daily lives'.

They found that the chimpanzees clearly beckoned to each other.

In one piece of footage, a mother gestures for her daughter to climb on her back; in another, a child holds another young chimp's hand to encourage it to play.


source: dailymail

gesture: a movement of the hands, arms or head, etc. to express an idea or feeling