Global Ape Census -Congo Discovery Sending Numbers Soaring

It looks like at least some of Charlton Heston's famous feelings have scientific evidence now. Recent work has demonstrated planning ability in several great apes - but before you start stocking up on anti-orangutan ammunition, be aware that this planning only extends as far as "drink some fruit juice".

The ability to plan ahead, rather than simply reacting to whichever stimulus is the closest or most powerful, has long been thought the domain of humans alone (and only some of them at that). Recent research at Lunds University in Sweden convincingly demonstrates self control and the ability to plan for the future in the rather variously named Naong, Linda and Maria Magdalena (two chimpanzees and an orangutan).

The apes were given the choice between a piece of fruit or a tool which could later be used to acquire a much larger amount of fruit juice. The "tool" was actually a large straw, but is still technically a device and "tool using" sounds much more advanced than "straw slurping". The apes repeatedly chose the drinking implement even when the juice was nowhere to be seen, it was significantly varied in shape, size and type or mixed in with various other interesting items.

These are extremely interesting results from the point of view of cognitive science, but also extremely embarrassing for humanity as a species - the choice of the straw required the apes to give up a possible short term reward for the sake of future benefits, so the paper basically says "Even monkeys have enough mental planning capacity to avoid the sub prime crisis."

Posted by Luke McKinney.