Cheeky: Two-year-old chimp couldn't resist taking a quick peek down his keeper's top
This cheeky chimp couldn’t resist taking a quick peek down his keeper’s top as she held him close to her chest. The two-year-old primate cast his eyes towards the keeper’s cleavage after using his index finger to peel away her green t-shirt. Photographer Cyril Ruoso captured the saucy moment at Pandrillus Drill Sanctuary, Nigeria. The 41-year-old said: 'It’s a funny shot. This photo shows how close we are to apes and it is the first time I have taken a picture that shows this kind of behaviour so clearly.
'However, for the chimp his actions have a social meaning. 'Grooming or physical interaction is a way to show how close you are to another individual. 'All primates need affection and social interaction.” Cyril, from Burgundy, France, added: “This isn’t the first time I have seen apes taking an interest in humans. 'I once met an Orang Utan in Borneo who loved to groom my hairy chest even when I was wearing a shirt.'
A child watches chimpanzees sharing a coconut in their newly renovated habitat at Taronga Zoo in Sydney on September 30, 2011. The state-of-the-art exhibit features giant towers, networks of climbing ropes, a giant hammock, as well as an expansive glassed area and tunnel systems for viewing the primates.
A chimpanzee eats watermelon in his newly renovated habitat at Taronga Zoo in Sydney on September 30, 2011. The state-of-the-art exhibit features giant towers, networks of climbing ropes, a giant hammock, as well as an expansive glassed area and tunnel systems for viewing the primates.
Chimpanzees share a coconut in their newly renovated habitat at Taronga Zoo in Sydney on September 30, 2011. The state-of-the-art exhibit features giant towers, networks of climbing ropes, a giant hammock, as well as an expansive glassed area and tunnel systems for viewing the primates.
A chimpanzee and her infant eats watermelon and a coconut in their newly renovated habitat at Taronga Zoo in Sydney on September 30, 2011. The state-of-the-art exhibit features giant towers, networks of climbing ropes, a giant hammock, as well as an expansive glassed area and tunnel systems for viewing the primates.
A chimpanzee enjoys a mouthful of watermelon in his newly renovated habitat at Taronga Zoo in Sydney on September 30, 2011. The state-of-the-art exhibit features giant towers, networks of climbing ropes, a giant hammock, as well as an expansive glassed area and tunnel systems for viewing the primates.
A chimpanzee cuddles her infant in their newly renovated habitat at Taronga Zoo in Sydney on September 30, 2011. The state-of-the-art exhibit features giant towers, networks of climbing ropes, a giant hammock, as well as an expansive glassed area and tunnel systems for viewing the primates.
Chimpanzees at Taronga Zoo have a morning meal of fruit as they explore their newly renovated enclosure in Sydney, Friday, Sept. 30, 2011. The zoo's 17 chimps have a network of climbing ropes and towers that support giant hammocks for them to enjoy.
Surreal: Three chimpanzees step out into the daylight for the first time in 30 years
This is the heartwarmingly human moment a troop of chimpanzees see daylight for the first time in 30 years.
Some of the 38 primates, who had been locked in cages for medical testing, injected with HIV and hepatitis, embrace and appear to smile before taking their first steps outside.
Their new-found freedom came after a 14-year battle to set the apes free from captivity after being taken from their mothers shortly after their births and brought to a research facility in Austria.
Testing ended on the apes in 1997, when the pharmaceutical company behind the research was sold and the chimpanzees were moved to a farm.
Overjoyed: The apes embrace in a hug and smile before venturing out onto the grass together
But the feat of introducing the chimps to the outside world was no easy task after their traumatising ordeal.
The readjustment period took keepers more than a decade - implementing careful techniques that slowly made them comfortable venturing beyond their four walls.
The footage, first broadcast by German television station RTL on September 4, shows two adult chimps staring in wonder at the grassy land that lies before them after the door to their facility opens.
Free at last! A chimp grins widely as he explores grassy terrain after decades in captivity
The first chimp takes only a few steps outside before turning around and hugging an ape behind him. Overjoyed, they even appear to laugh.
Other apes behind them appear hesitant to follow in their footsteps but make their way out steadily, stepping into the grass and exploring their new-found freedom together.
Is it safe? A chimpanzee tentatively waits inside after a door is opened to his freedom
Keeper Renate Foidl said: 'The chimps are incredibly happy. This is amazing, I have been waiting for this moment for so long.'
The lab chimps are now at the Gut Aiderbichl Animal Sanctuary, near Salzburg, Austria.
On the rampage: Josie in a calmer moment. The 23-year-old chimpanzee looted the zoo kitchen, where staff prepare the animals' food
A chimpanzee who escaped her enclosure went on the rampage stealing food from the zoo's kitchen, stunning staff and visitors.
In a scene which could have come straight from the new film Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, female chimp Josie barricaded herself in the kitchen, hurled food at staff and smashed pots at Twycross Zoo in Atherstone, Warwickshire.
Escape: The chimp enclosure at Twycross Zoo. Staff have insisted that the animal did not pose any threat to the public or zoo workers
It took staff 40 minutes to calm down the 23-year-old chimpanzee before they were able to coax her back into her enclosure.
Despite the beast going on the rampage, staff have insisted the public were never at risk after Josie escaped.
A zoo spokeswoman said: 'Josie decided she wanted an extra snack and managed to get into the back kitchen area within the chimpanzee building, where her food is usually prepared.
Just like the movies: A scene from the new film Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
'We are not entirely sure how she managed it but a full investigation is under way.
'The team at Twycross Zoo does regular drills so we are well equipped to cope with any emergency that arises.
'We followed our emergency protocols and everything went according to plan.
The movie The Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, which was released last week, is a prequel to the original Planet Of The Apes film which shows how the animals take over the human race.
Maternal instinct: A two-year-old chimpanzee called Do Do feeds milk to Aorn, a two-month-old tiger cub
They are humans' closest relative, sharing a similar genetic make-up and displaying behaviour not unlike our own.
Now this little chimpanzee is showing off a motherly instinct to rival even the most maternal of mankind.
These adorable images reveal the close bond that has formed between a two-year-old chimpanzee called Do Do and a two-month-old tiger cub called Aorn.
Bonding: The animals both live at Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm and Zoo on the outskirts of Bangkok
Completely at ease in each other's company, the ape's motherly instincts take over as she attentively bottle feeds the baby tiger.
Aorn gratefully laps up the milk as Do Do tenderly holds the tiger in her arms.
At one point, Do Do puts the bottle in her own mouth - almost mimicking the actions of a human mother checking to see if the milk is suitable for her offspring to consume.
For some unexplained reason Do Do is wearing a pair of denim shorts - perhaps to protect her thighs from Aorn's claws.
They were photographed at Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm and Zoo on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand.
For some unexplained reason Do Do is wearing a pair of denim shorts - perhaps to protect her thighs from Aorn's claws
Heat test: Do Do drinks some of the milk, perhaps to make sure the temperature is okay for the tiger cub
The crocodile farm, used as a tourist attraction, houses some 80,000 crocodiles and is the largest in Thailand.
Its owners claim to hold the largest captive crocodile, measuring an astonishing six metres long and weighing 2,465lbs.
Regular crocodile shows are staged during which zookeepers place their heads inside the reptiles' mouths.
However, the farm doesn't just contain crocodiles.
As you'd expect from these pictures, monkeys and tigers also live there, alongside elephants, lions, horses and hippopotamuses.
Aorn gratefully laps up the milk as Do Do tenderly holds the tiger in her arms
Monkey business: Nim is taught sign language by volunteer Joyce Butler
The woman volunteer thought Nim was coming to hug her, but instead the young chimp lunged, biting so deep into her cheek that his fangs pierced her mouth.
As she clutched her bleeding face, the little ape was beside himself, using the same piece of sign language again and again to attract her attention. ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ he repeated.
This haunting recollection is one of many contained in a riveting new film, Project Nim, by the director of the Oscar-winning Man On Wire, about one of the most bizarre scientific experiments of recent times.
'A heartless Doctor Doolittle': Professor Herb Terrace takes Nim for a ride
British film-maker James Marsh’s latest subject undertakes a journey every bit as astonishing as tightrope artist Philippe Petit’s walk on a wire strung between the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Centre.
Nim was a chimp that was raised as a human child in order to test out the radical theory that man and his closest relative could learn to talk to each other.
Tragically, as Marsh’s film relates through a mixture of archive footage, re-enactments and interviews with those who took part in the early-Seventies experiment, this is a tale that ultimately says more about human arrogance than simian intelligence.
Meal time: The animal eating with one of the volunteers. The chimp was given the name Nim Chimpsky - a pun on Noam Chomsky, the famous thinker who insisted that only humans have the capacity for language
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
Six-day-old newborn Common Chimpanzee female (Pan troglodytes) clings to her mother Uschi as photographers take pictures at Bratislava Zoo on March 16, 2011. The young chimpanzee is the first to be born in the ape house which was opened on April 23, 2010 and is also the first chimpanzee born in Bratislava Zoo since 1990 when her mother Uschi delivered her first offspring, male Samko.
Six-day-old newborn Common Chimpanzee female (Pan troglodytes) clings to her mother Uschi at Bratislava Zoo on March 16, 2011. The young chimpanzee is the first to be born in the ape house which was opened on April 23, 2010 and is also the first chimpanzee born in Bratislava Zoo since 1990 when her mother Uschi delivered her first offspring, male Samko.
A six-day-old female baby chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) clings to her mother Uschi at the Bratislava Zoo March 16, 2011. The young chimpanzee is the first chimpanzee born in Bratislava Zoo since 1990.
A six-day-old female baby chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) clings to her mother Uschi at the Bratislava Zoo March 16, 2011. The young chimpanzee is the first chimpanzee born in Bratislava Zoo since 1990.
A six-day-old female baby chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) clings to her mother Uschi at the Bratislava Zoo March 16, 2011. The young chimpanzee is the first chimpanzee born in Bratislava Zoo since 1990.
A six-day-old female baby chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) clings to her mother Uschi at the Bratislava Zoo March 16, 2011. The young chimpanzee is the first chimpanzee born in Bratislava Zoo since 1990.
Having a giggle: Chimpanzees appeared to use laughter to strengthen social bonds, just like humans
Chimpanzees mimic the laughter of their playmates even if they do not find the situation as funny, scientists said today.
Research by Dr Marina Davila-Ross, of the University of Portsmouth, has shown that the apes do not just ape the expressions of their social partners.
The psychologist said the chimpanzees appeared to use laughter to strengthen social bonds, just like humans.
She said this showed that great apes had a more complex social use of expressions than previously thought.
Dr Davila-Ross said: 'Humans clearly use laughter as an important response in a wide range of social situations, but it is particularly interesting that chimpanzees seem to also use laughter to respond in such distinct ways.
Research: Dr Marina Davila-Ross's (right) study examined laughter in 59 chimpanzees living in four groups in the chimpanzee sanctuary Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage in Zambia
'Great apes' ability to manage the sounds they make seems to be much more limited than humans and other animals, and even parrots.
'Nonetheless, their laughter might be partly managed and partly automatic.
'They do not just mimic the expressions of their playmates; they respond with their expressions in more complex ways than we were aware of before.
Play time: Dr Davila-Ross added that the apes had to be part of the fun to start laughing and would not just laugh by hearing other apes laughing nearby
'We found their responsive laughter shows a similarity to the conversational laughter of humans.
'Both are shorter than spontaneous laughter and both seem designed to promote social interaction.
'These sorts of responses may lead to important advantages in co-operation and social communication - qualities that help explain why laughter and smiles have become integral tools of emotional intelligence in humans.'
'Since then, the ability to control laughter must have drastically increased, along with its adaptive advantages, which explains why laughter has become a highly sophisticated, ubiquitous tool of co-operation and social communication in humans.'
The right stuff: Ham is bolted into his capsule on top of the rocket that will blast him over 150 miles into space
He may sound like a comic book character from the age of Dan Dare, but Ham the astro-chimp had a serious purpose.
One of a squadron of 40 chimpanzees specially trained by the U.S. to make a monkey out of the Soviet Union’s attempt to win the space race, Ham made history 50 years ago as the first chimp to be launched into space.
With the Russians inching ever closer to the Holy Grail of sending a human into orbit, the Americans decided to use a three-year-old chimp — in the style of a gas-detecting canary in a mine — to find out whether humans would be able to survive in space.
The Soviet Union had previously sent dogs into space, but the U.S. chose chimps because of their similarities to humans.
Originally from Cameroon in Africa, and once the star attraction at a Florida zoo, Ham was purchased by the United States Air Force to boldly go where only fruit flies, rhesus monkeys and a dog called Laika had gone before.
Laika was a Russian hound who became the first animal to orbit the earth in November 1957 aboard the Sputnik 2 satellite. She survived for seven days before her oxygen ran out.
The difference with Ham — whose name was taken from the initials of the Holloman Aerospace Medical Center in New Mexico, where he was housed — was that he would not only go up into space, but also come down again safely.
Laid back: Ham appeared just as relaxed while preparing for take-off (left) as he did having come back down to earth
He and his fellow chimps were prepared for the flight for two-and-a-half years, and taught to complete simple tasks in response to lights and sounds. Pushing a lever within five seconds of seeing a flashing blue light earned him a banana pellet; failure gave him a mild electric shock to the soles of his feet.
Teams of white-coated scientists put the apes to the test on machines that measured the stresses they could cope with in terms of gravity, velocity and heat. They were even fed the diet of banana capsules that would sustain them in space.
On January 31, 1961, Ham was launched on Mission MR-2 — but almost immediately there was a hitch. The flight path was a degree higher than it should have been, meaning the craft reached an altitude of 157 miles above the earth — higher than the planned target of 115, and oxygen levels began to drop.
For six minutes of the flight, Ham was weightless as the capsule sped across the sky at around 5,000mph.
It splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean 16 minutes and 39 seconds later, and when rescuers reached it, Ham gratefully accepted an apple and half an orange.
Testing time: Ham, wearing his military dog tags, undergoes medical tests
He was unharmed by his adventure, and went to live at the National Zoo in Washington for 17 years. He died at North Carolina Zoo at the age of 25.
The space race didn’t end with his flight, though. Although the Americans could claim they had put a primate into space, the Russians argued that the flight was only sub-orbital — in other words, it hadn’t gone right round the world.
On April 12, 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin entered the history books when he became the first man in space aboard Vostok 1.
The Americans followed a month later on May 5 when Alan B. Shepard became their first astronaut. By then, Ham already had his feet up.
Grieving process: A chimpanzee mother tenderly lays her dead 16-month-old infant on the ground after carrying the body for more than 24 hours. Scientists filmed this heartbreaking footage in Chimfunshi, Zambia
Chimpanzees appear to mourn their dead infants just like humans, scientists have discovered.
Chimpanzee mothers establish close physical relationships with their young, carrying them for up to two years and nursing them until they are six.
But now scientists have filmed how one chimpanzee mother, whose 16-month-old infant died, apparently begins the grieving process.
It’s the latest evidence highlighting just how similar chimps and other great apes are to humans.
The ape continued to carry the body for more than 24 hours before tenderly laying on the ground. Then from a short distance she watched over her child.
Periodically she returns to the body and touches the face and neck with her fingers to establish it was dead.
She then took the body to other chimpanzees in the troop to get a second opinion. The following day the chimp had abandoned the body, according to a report by scientists from the respected Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics.
Dr Cronin said the research provided 'unique insights into how chimpanzees, one of humans' closest primate relatives, learn about death'.
Dr Katherine Cronin and Edwin Van Leeuwen together with Prof Mark Bodamer, of Gonzaga University in Washington State, and Innocent Chitalu Mulenga videoed the chimpanzee in Chimfunshi, Zambia.
Devastated: Struggling to take in the news, the mother then moves to a nearby grass bank and watches over the body of her dead child
Dr Cronin said the research provided 'unique insights into how chimpanzees, one of humans' closest primate relatives, learn about death'.
She said: 'After carrying the infant's dead body for more than a day, the mother laid the body out on the ground in a clearing and repeatedly approached the body and held her fingers against the infant's face and neck for multiple seconds.
'She remained near the body for nearly an hour, then carried it over to a group of chimpanzees and watched them investigate the body. The next day, the mother was no longer carrying the body of the infant.'
The report, published in the American Journal of Primatology, said almost nothing is known about how primates react to death of close individuals, what they understand about death, and whether they mourn.
The researchers therefore believe they have reported a unique transitional period as the mother learned about the death of her infant, a process never before reported in detail.
Second opinion: The mother then invites other chimpanzees over to the body, touching the face and neck with her fingers to confirm it is dead
'The videos are extremely valuable, because they force one to stop and think about what might be happening in the minds of other primates,' Dr Cronin said.
'Whether a viewer ultimately decides that the chimpanzee is mourning, or simply curious about the corpse, is not nearly as important as people taking a moment to consider the possibilities.'
Previous reports have documented chimpanzee mothers carrying their deceased young for days or weeks, showing the strength of the mother-infant bond. The latest research complements these observations and sheds new light on how chimpanzees might learn about death.
Professor Bodamer said: 'These data contribute to a small but growing body of data on how non-human primates respond to death.
'We hope these objective accounts will continue to accumulate and eventually allow researchers to take a comprehensive look at the extent to which non-human primate understand death, and how they respond to it.
'It was only a matter of time, and the right conditions, that chimpanzees' response to death would be recorded and subjected to analysis that would reveal remarkable similarities to humans.'
Chimps are human’s closest relatives in the wild. Like people they can use tools, using sticks to fish out termites, hunt in teams and plan ahead.
They are also one of the few animals that can recognise themselves in a mirror - and realise that they are looking at a reflection.
A champanzee carries a dead snake and a banana at Alipore Zoo in Kolkata on January 11, 2011. The zoo only counts two chimpanzees left following death of two others last year.
A chimpanzee picks up a dead snake at Alipore Zoo in Kolkata on January 11, 2011. The zoo only counts two chimpanzees left following death of two others last year.
A chimpanzee looks on, watched by hundreds of visitors at Alipore Zoo in Kolkata on January 11, 2011. The zoo only counts two chimpanzees left following death of two others last year.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 23: In this handout image provided by Taronga Zoo, a bear looks at a paper made snowman at Taronga Zoo on December 23, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. The festive foods were given to the animals as part of the regular enrichment program in place to encourage the animals to forage for food and help improve hunting abilities.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 23: In this handout image provided by Taronga Zoo, two chimpanzees share a piece of watermelon at Taronga Zoo on December 23, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. The festive foods were given to the animals as part of the regular enrichment program in place to encourage the animals to forage for food and help improve hunting abilities.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 23: In this handout image provided by Taronga Zoo, a bear plays with Christmas decorations at Taronga Zoo on December 23, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. The festive foods were given to the animals as part of the regular enrichment program in place to encourage the animals to forage for food and help improve hunting abilities.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 23: In this handout image provided by Taronga Zoo, a meerket rests inside a Christmas present at Taronga Zoo on December 23, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. The festive foods were given to the animals as part of the regular enrichment program in place to encourage the animals to forage for food and help improve hunting abilities.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 23: In this handout image provided by Taronga Zoo, a meerkat plays with Christmas presents at Taronga Zoo on December 23, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. The festive foods were given to the animals as part of the regular enrichment program in place to encourage the animals to forage for food and help improve hunting abilities.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 23: In this handout image provided by Taronga Zoo, a tree kangaroo eats slices of watermelon at Taronga Zoo on December 23, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. The festive foods were given to the animals as part of the regular enrichment program in place to encourage the animals to forage for food and help improve hunting abilities.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 23: In this handout image provided by Taronga Zoo, a tree kangaroo eats slices of watermelon at Taronga Zoo on December 23, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. The festive foods were given to the animals as part of the regular enrichment program in place to encourage the animals to forage for food and help improve hunting abilities.
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Animalfwd
Cheeky: Two-year-old chimp couldn't resist taking a quick peek down his keeper's top
Cheeky: Two-year-old chimp couldn't resist taking a quick peek down his keeper's top
