Chimps capable of planning future attacks

[cosmicalstorm]

This is pretty cool.

Zoo chimp 'planned' stone attacks

A male chimpanzee in a Swedish zoo planned hundreds of stone-throwing attacks on zoo visitors, according to researchers.

Keepers at Furuvik Zoo found that the chimp collected and stored stones that he would later use as missiles.

Further, the chimp learned to recognise how and when parts of his concrete enclosure could be pulled apart to fashion further projectiles.

The findings are reported in the journal Current Biology.

There has been scant evidence in previous research that animals can plan for future events.

Crucial to the current study is the fact that Santino, a chimpanzee at the zoo in the city north of Stockholm, collected the stones in a calm state, prior to the zoo opening in the morning.

The launching of the stones occurred hours later - during dominance displays to zoo visitors - with Santino in an "agitated" state.

This suggests that Santino was anticipating a future mental state - an ability that has been difficult to definitively prove in animals, according to Mathias Osvath, a cognitive scientist from Lund University in Sweden and author of the new research.

"We've done experimental studies, and the chimps in my mind show very clearly that they do plan for future needs, but it has been argued that perhaps this was an experimental artefact," Dr Osvath told BBC News.

"Now we have this spontaneous behaviour, which is always in some sense better evidence."

Cracking show

Dr Osvath embarked on the study after zoo staff discovered caches of stones in the section of the enclosure facing the public viewing area.

Since the initial discovery in 1997, hundreds of the caches have been removed to protect visitors, to whom the caching and the aggressive displays seem strictly related; in the off season, Santino neither hoards the projectiles nor hurls them.

Most interestingly, Santino seems to have learned how to spot weak parts of the concrete "boulders" in the centre of the enclosure.

When water seeps into cracks in the concrete and freezes, portions become detached that make a hollow sound when tapped.

Santino was observed gently knocking on the "boulders", hitting harder to detach bits that were loosened and adding those to his stashes of ammunition.

There are a number of examples of complex behaviour in apes that suggest forms of consciousness.

Planning behaviour like that of the current work is connected to so-called autonoetic consciousness, where information due to memory can be distinguished from that from the senses.

"I'm personally convinced that at least chimps do plan for future needs, that they do have this autonoetic consciousness," Dr Osvath said.

"I hope that other zoos or those in the wild will look more closely at what is happening," he added.

"I bet there must be a lot of these kinds of behaviours out there, and I wouldn't be surprised if we find them in dolphins or other species."

[Ziggy Stardust]

While this is a particularly cool and unusual example, I don't know where this article got the idea that there is no prior evidence of future planning in animals. Although there is a lot of debate over the issue, and it has been difficult to prove experimentally, there is a lot of observed animal behavior that indicates future planning. Birds, especially, have indicated this ability. Hell, squirrels storing nuts for the winter is an example of this. Ants and bees do the same thing.

Though this chimpanzee example is cool specifically because the planning is for an act of aggression, as opposed to basic survival, as in most other observed cases.

[Shinova]

Ah, but the squirrels storing nuts thing is an instinct. At least that's what I read mentioned on this board once. They don't know why they do it but they have a drive to hoard. Same with ants and bees.

Better example are dolphins. I recall one example where a dolphin is rewarded fish for retrieving pieces of paper and other junk in its pool. The dolphin then learned to hide away the junk in its pool and bring out small pieces and opportune times to get fish.

[Koolaidkirby]

While this is a particularly cool and unusual example, I don't know where this article got the idea that there is no prior evidence of future planning in animals. Although there is a lot of debate over the issue, and it has been difficult to prove experimentally, there is a lot of observed animal behavior that indicates future planning. Birds, especially, have indicated this ability. Hell, squirrels storing nuts for the winter is an example of this. Ants and bees do the same thing.

Though this chimpanzee example is cool specifically because the planning is for an act of aggression, as opposed to basic survival, as in most other observed cases.

theres a difference between doing something instinctively (having an urge to do something, like storing nuts) and learning to store something in order to use it later, such as in the OP's article.

[Bounty]

Very interesting behaviour, not just from the point of view of studying chimps, but also has an insight into how we ourselves might have evolved.

I wonder if he was preparing for a specific event, or if he was simply anticipating a cyclical pattern; Did he know he was going to need ammunition that day, or did he simply catch on to him needing ammunition regularly?

On a whimsical note; stockpiling weapons? Monkey see, monkey do...

[Edi]

We know chimps are tool users and can fashion some kinds of tools and even improve on the designs (such as using a brush-like tool to extract termites instead of a simple stick), so in that sense this is small potatoes.

Chimps in the wild have been observed patrolling territory and going on raids against rival groups, which requires at least as much planning as this. The difference here is that this behavior happened in circumstances where it could be monitored from start to finish repeatedly over a long period of time.

[Surlethe]

Goddamnit, Edi, I was going to mention the raids!

Well, I can offer a tad more detail, if my memory serves me. After the chimp tribe in Gombe fissured, the northern group began to raid the southern group and systematically killed all of the males, then brought the females back to the north. I seem to recall that one individual was responsible for instigating the raids, and when I queried my professor he seemed to agree that this was grounds for concluding that chimps planned ahead.

Another example is monkey hunting: the chimpanzees will isolate a colobus monkey, systematically block all escape routes, then approach, kill, and eat the monkey. That requires some level of strategic forethought, too.

[Rye]

Chimps in the wild also proto-culturally ritualise the hunt. Before they go out for a fight, they do weird things like run in circles around particular trees and drum on its bark so they basically work themselves into a state - communally - and then go fight the enemy. The various cultural war-dances around the world and religious rituals are pretty eerie after you've seen chimps do that shit.

[Samuel]

Ah, but the squirrels storing nuts thing is an instinct. At least that's what I read mentioned on this board once. They don't know why they do it but they have a drive to hoard. Same with ants and bees.

Better example are dolphins. I recall one example where a dolphin is rewarded fish for retrieving pieces of paper and other junk in its pool. The dolphin then learned to hide away the junk in its pool and bring out small pieces and opportune times to get fish.

No, the cool part was that he was rewarded for each piece of junk so he ripped pieces off the bag so there was more. Like printing your own money!

[Superman]

Fascinating, but does this also apply to when they throw their own poo? I don't think I've ever heard of a chimp stockpiling turds...

[Darth Yoshi]

Stockpiled turds probably don't hold up too well. They'd probably dry up and scatter when thrown.

[Tahlan]

Has anyone heard about male monkeys (or chimps) who go out and kill small animals for meat and bring it back to females in exchange for sex? Talk about planning!

[Tolya]

Dubya planned an attack on Iraq many years ago and he is a chimp, so what's new here?

On a serious and side note, Bonobo chimpanzees exhibit advanced linguistic aptitude. They are smart. An example of what happened during the experiment by Sue Savage-Rumbaugh (a cool surname if read phonetically).

Examples of Kanzi's behavior

* In an outing in the Georgia woods, Kanzi touched the symbols for "marshmallows" and "fire." Susan Savage-Rumbaugh said in an interview that, "Given matches and marshmallows, Kanzi snapped twigs for a fire, lit them with the matches and toasted the marshmallows on a stick."[5]

* Paul Raffaele, at Savage-Rumbaugh's request, performed a Maori War Dance for the Bonobos. This dance includes thigh-slapping, chest-thumping, and hollering. Almost all the bonobos present interpreted this as an aggressive display, and reacted with loud screams, tooth-baring, and pounding the walls and floor. All but Kanzi, who remained perfectly calm; he then communicated with Savage-Rumbaugh using bonobo vocalizations; Savage-Rumbaugh understood these vocalizations, and said to Raffaele "he'd like you to do it again just for him, in a room out back, so the others won't get upset.” So a private performance in another room was successfully, peacefully and happily carried out.[5]

* Sue Savage-Rumbaugh has observed Kanzi in communication to his sister. In this experiment, Kanzi was kept in a separate room of the Great Ape Project and shown some yogurt. Kanzi started vocalizing the word "yogurt" in an unknown "language"; his sister, who could not see the yogurt, then pointed to the lexigram for yogurt.[5]

* Kanzi's accomplishments also include tool use and tool crafting. Kanzi is an accomplished stone tool maker and is quite proud of his ability to flake Oldowan style cutting knives. He learned this skill from Dr. Nick Toth, who is an anthropologist with the Stone Age Institute in Bloomington, Indiana. The stone knives Kanzi creates are very sharp and can cut animal hide and thick ropes.

* In one demonstration shown on the television show Champions of the Wild, Kanzi was shown playing the arcade game Pac-Man and understanding how to beat it.

Chimps are serious business. What is interesting about Kanzi is that the experiments on "teaching an ape to communicate" began with his mother. He accompanied her as an infant during the early stages and later surpassed her mother in every department. Brilliant stuff.

[TheLostVikings]

Chimps are serious business. What is interesting about Kanzi is that the experiments on "teaching an ape to communicate" began with his mother. He accompanied her as an infant during the early stages and later surpassed her mother in every department. Brilliant stuff.

Well it makes perfect sense, children who have been without human contact from birth and never managed to learn to speak/read are well documented. So it seems natural that hearing language from the early stages on help influence the necessary neural pathways before the brain have finished organizing itself. (happens around the age of 6 in humans, as far as I can recall)

[Tolya]

Well it makes perfect sense, children who have been without human contact from birth and never managed to learn to speak/read are well documented. So it seems natural that hearing language from the early stages on help influence the necessary neural pathways before the brain have finished organizing itself. (happens around the age of 6 in humans, as far as I can recall)

Yes, up to 5-6 years old (may be different in each case) the brain is in a so-called L1 stage, which not only makes language learning easy and fast, but also makes you use it intuitively. Which is why we are so good with our native languages, but often struggle for many years with our second languages and often fail.

It is interesting however in the case of a chimpanzee. It makes you wonder: how many generations would it take to produce a chimp that can easily communicate with us? (Mind you you cannot actually teach chimps english, because of the way their trachea is constructed. For example, apes cannot choke on food, while humans do it regularly.

[Ziggy Stardust]

Ah, but the squirrels storing nuts thing is an instinct. At least that's what I read mentioned on this board once. They don't know why they do it but they have a drive to hoard. Same with ants and bees.

I'd absolutely love to see your proof for that. And your proof that what the chimp doing isn't instinctual on any level. Hell, please provide your reasoning that 'instinct' and 'future planning' are mutually exclusive concepts in animal cognition.

theres a difference between doing something instinctively (having an urge to do something, like storing nuts) and learning to store something in order to use it later, such as in the OP's article.

So, when squirrels stache somethinig that they will use later, it's just blind instinct, but when a chimp staches something that it will use later, it's different? Please provide some proof that there is a difference. As I said in my first post, the chimp cases is interesting because it is such an UNUSUAL example of this behavior, but saying that this is the first finding of its kind is idiotic.

[Koolaidkirby]

So, when squirrels stache somethinig that they will use later, it's just blind instinct, but when a chimp staches something that it will use later, it's different? Please provide some proof that there is a difference. As I said in my first post, the chimp cases is interesting because it is such an UNUSUAL example of this behavior, but saying that this is the first finding of its kind is idiotic.

Because squirrels storing food for later is a survivalist instinct that all squirrels preform, its not so much "planning ahead" as it is hardwired into all squirrels brains.

This is a case of a single chimp storing rocks for use as ammunition for reasons obviously not due to instincts.

there's a difference between doing something because its instinct and doing something because you want to. One is done without thought, one requires some actual planning.

[Johonebesus]

I seem to recall research that Gray squirrels can't remember where they bury acorns. In a healthy environment there are so many of them burying so many acorns that they can dig them up anywhere.

The article about the chimps sounds suspicious, with all its talk about some unknown Bonobo language. The first example sounds plausible, but the second with the chimp telling the scientist that he wanted a private performance in another room sounds nuts.

[Ziggy Stardust]

Because squirrels storing food for later is a survivalist instinct that all squirrels preform, its not so much "planning ahead" as it is hardwired into all squirrels brains.

Congratulations, idiot, you completely ignored my post! Where is your proof that what squirrels do is "hardwired" and NOT "planning ahead"? Seriously, find a fucking scientific study that supports this assertion instead of just saying it as if you were the end-all be-all authority on animal cognition.

This is a case of a single chimp storing rocks for use as ammunition for reasons obviously not due to instincts.

Because you say so, right? So territorial defense is in no way instinctual? Ants and bees do it. Your family dog does it. Squirrels do it, too. Oh, but when they do it, it's just blind instinct, but if a chimp does it, it's "planning ahead."

there's a difference between doing something because its instinct and doing something because you want to. One is done without thought, one requires some actual planning.

Because you say so, right? Where is the line between instinct and free will? I expect you have a specific line drawn, otherwise your entire argument is worthless.

I asked you for proof of your claim, and all you did was restate your original point. In your next post, I expect you to either concede, or back up your assertion.

[Ziggy Stardust]

I seem to recall research that Gray squirrels can't remember where they bury acorns. In a healthy environment there are so many of them burying so many acorns that they can dig them up anywhere.

Not quite. However, there have been studies performed which indicate that at least some species of squirrel forage by looking for good hiding spots instead of remembering the specific places they hid nuts. All this proves, however, is that squirrels are intelligent enough to predict where other individuals are hiding their nuts, not that they are incapable of remembering where they themselves may or may not have buried nuts.