At a wildlife sanctuary in Zambia, chimpanzees have developed a new social behavior by placing grass or sticks in their ears or on their hips. Experts say this suggests that chimpanzees may be creating their own "fashion" trends and adapting to social behaviors much like humans do.
In 2010, a female chimpanzee at the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage inserted a blade of grass into her ear. This behavior was soon adopted by other chimpanzees. Years later, a similar behavior was observed in a different group of chimpanzees in another section of the sanctuary, located about 15 kilometers away—making direct imitation between the groups unlikely.
Further research revealed that human caretakers in the first group were seen cleaning their ears with toothpicks, while caretakers of the second group did not display such behavior. Interestingly, chimpanzees in the second group took the behavior further by inserting sticks into their hips, which is also believed to be influenced by previous human interactions.
Primatologist Elodie Freymann from the University of Oxford, though not involved in the study, called the findings exciting: "The transmission of social behavior between humans and apes is groundbreaking for primatology."
The research once again highlights how chimpanzees resemble humans not only in survival skills but also in their social intelligence and capacity for cultural adaptation.
