Chimpanzee

How silk caterpillars became a tool for conservation in Madagascar

When Catherine Craig first went to Gombe in 1972, she was not thinking about silk. She was an undergraduate in a four-seat plane with Jane Goodall, flying over the Tanzanian forest where Goodall’s work on chimpanzees was changing how scientists understood animals. Craig spent six months there, learning to recognize individual chimpanzees and helping track […]

Mongabay · 6/10/2026

‘They surprise me every time’: bees can use tools to solve problems, study finds

Insects join list of species capable of solving simple ‘box-and-banana’ problem that demonstrates basic intelligence Bumblebees can use tools to solve a problem, according to experiments that demonstrate their remarkably advanced cognitive abilities. The bees were given an adapted version of an experiment that, 100 years ago, first demonstrated chimpanzees could work out how to retrieve an out-of-reach banana by stacking boxes. Since then, various other primates, elephants and crows have joined an elite cohort of species known to be capable of this level of insight and spontaneous problem solving. Continue reading...

The Guardian Environment · 6/4/2026

Chimpanzees vs. a mega railway

A massive railway project, The Simandou corridor, in Guinea is cutting through one of West Africa’s most important ecosystems. The Simandou corridor is fragmenting forests that are home to the largest population of endangered western chimpanzees, putting their survival at risk. But why is this massive railway project being built? Deep within Guinea’s forests lie […]

Mongabay · 6/3/2026

Chimpanzees and bonobos have human-like friend circles, study finds

Great apes appear to build friendships much like humans do. By studying grooming behavior, researchers discovered that chimpanzees and bonobos form close inner circles along with wider networks of weaker social connections. Chimpanzees focus on a few trusted partners and become more selective with age, while bonobos maintain a more egalitarian social style.

ScienceDaily Plants & Animals · 5/31/2026

A ‘symphony’ of wildlife suggests carbon financing is working in Sierra Leone

One of the first things H.S. Sathya Chandra Sagar noticed in Gola Rainforest National Park was its profusion of sound. Standing amid the tallest trees he’d ever seen, Sagar could hear the calls of countless birds, the hoot of primates, and in the distance, drumming: chimpanzees, beating fists and sticks on tree roots to check […]

Mongabay · 5/27/2026