Latest news with #culturalfads
CBC
11-07-2025
- Science
- CBC
Chimpanzees follow fashion trends just like humans, study suggests
Chimpanzees follow fashion trends just like humans, study suggests | Hanomansing Tonight News Duration 3:24 Chimpanzees living in a sanctuary in Africa have been observed following 'fashion trends' by dangling blades of grass or sticks from their ears and their behinds. A new study suggests this behaviour mirrors how cultural fads develop among humans.
The Independent
09-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Chimpanzees accessorise and follow fashion trends just like humans, scientists find
Chimpanzees have been observed following ' fashion trends ' in the same way humans might do, research has revealed. Eight rescue primates in Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage, Zambia, were seen placing grass or twigs into their ears for no particular reason, a study published in the journal Behaviour found. Dr Jake Brooker of Durham University, co-author of the study, told The Times: 'This isn't about cracking nuts or fishing for termites. It's more like chimpanzee fashion. 'It mirrors how human cultural fads spread: someone starts doing something, others copy it and it becomes part of the group identity, even if it serves no clear purpose — and even if it's sometimes uncomfortable.' The researchers said one explanation could be chimpanzees being in captivity not having to pay as much attention to staying alive. 'They don't have to stay as alert or spend as much time searching for food,' Dr Edwin van Leeuwen of Utrecht University, added. 'That may give them more cognitive room for play, experimentation and copying each other.' In a separate study, chimpanzees in Uganda were observed using plants to treat open wounds and tend to each other's injuries. University of Oxford scientists, working with a local team in the Budongo Forest, filmed and recorded the animals using plants for first aid. The footage shows the animals licking and dabbing leaves on wounds. Researchers say the footage adds to a growing body of evidence that primates, including chimps, orangutans and gorillas, use natural medicines in a number of ways to stay healthy in the wild. Dr Elodie Freymann of the University of Oxford, first author of the article in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, said: 'Chimpanzee wound care encompasses several techniques: direct wound licking, which removes debris and potentially applies antimicrobial compounds in saliva; finger licking followed by wound pressing; leaf-dabbing; and chewing plant materials and applying them directly to wounds.' Researchers studied two communities of chimpanzees in the Budongo Forest, the Sonso and Waibira. Like all chimpanzees, members of these communities are vulnerable to injuries, whether caused by fights, accidents, or snares set by humans. About 40 per cent of all primates in Sonso have been seen with snare injuries. The researchers spent four months observing each community, as well as drawing on video evidence from the Great Ape Dictionary database, logbooks containing decades of observational data, and a survey of other scientists who had witnessed chimpanzees treating illness or injury.
Telegraph
08-07-2025
- Science
- Telegraph
Chimps follow social fads like humans, study finds
Chimpanzees adopt pointless fads, just like humans, researchers have found. The animals were seen wearing grass and sticks in their ears, after copying the habit from other chimps. The practice serves no purpose and shows chimps are capable of socially transmitting arbitrary customs, making them more like humans than previously thought. Dr Jake Brooker of Durham University, said: 'What's remarkable is that these customs have no obvious utility. 'This isn't about cracking nuts or fishing for termites – it's more like chimpanzee fashion. 'It mirrors how human cultural fads spread: someone starts doing something, others copy it, and it becomes part of the group identity even if it serves no clear purpose.' Spontaneous behaviour Researchers spotted the strange behaviour while observing 147 chimpanzees across eight social groups living in the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage in Zambia, Africa. The team discovered that five of the eight chimpanzees in the group started inserting grass or small sticks into their ears, while six began doing the same with their rectums. The behaviour – which has never been seen in the wild – appeared spontaneously and spread rapidly. Dr Edwin van Leeuwen of Utrecht University, the Netherlands, said: 'In captivity, they have more free time than in the wild. 'They don't have to stay as alert or spend as much time searching for food. Why they do exactly this particular thing, I'm not really concerned about. 'But they are copying the behaviour from each other, that is the important insight.' Culture predates humans The findings suggest that culture may have evolved far earlier than humans, and that the roots of symbolic shared behaviour is embedded in primates. Dr Brooker added: 'In copying these quirky actions, the chimpanzees may be helping strengthen social bonds or signal group belonging. That's something we see in human fads too. 'By studying the seemingly odd but socially meaningful behaviours of chimpanzees, we gain powerful insights into how our own cultures may have evolved. 'Our findings demonstrate just how much we still share with our primate cousins, and challenge the idea that symbolic or arbitrary traditions are uniquely human.'
