Chimpanzees Show Signs of Recognition Toward Skulls of Their Own Species
Published:12 Apr.2022 Source:Kyoto University
Chimpanzees are known to interact with dead members of their species, revisiting corpses, and even showing mourning-like behavior. Elephants are also known to do this, and will even interact with elephant skeletons.
But do chimpanzees show recognition and preferences in the case of conspecific skeletons: belonging to their own species? Previously, the scientific community has given little attention to this, perhaps assuming that chimpanzees have little or no knowledge of chimpanzee skeletal anatomy. The recent field of comparative thanatology has delved into this kind of question.