"Ape Genius" on NOVA last night

[Deborah Harrell]

This was way cool -- and a bit scary, especially
watching a chimp make a primitive spear with which to
hunt bush babies.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/apegenius/?campaign=pbshomefeatures_3_novabrapegenius_2008-02-20

One bonobo, Kanzi, understands *3000* English words
according to his researchers.

The lack of ability to understand attention-pointing
was intriguing, as dogs _do_ get this concept (even my
cats have learned this, although it took a very long
time (months) for Bashir to comprehend).  And the
related 'triangulation teaching mode' seems to be
unique to us humans, at least for now.  Inability to
delay gratification using actual desired objects
(candy) contrasted with ability to use symbols
representing those objects (numbers on cards) to
successfully wait for the treats.

More on those spear-makers:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/2008-04/chimps-with-spears/roach-text.html
The Fongoli chimps of Senegal will break off a branch,
sharpen it with their teeth, and use it to hunt bush
babies. That's just one of the recent discoveries that
underscore the ape-human connection.
...Unlike their better-known rain forest kin,
savanna-woodland chimps spend most of their day on the
ground. There is no canopy here. The trees are low and
grow sparsely. It's an environment very much like the
open, scratchy terrain where early humans evolved... 

Debbi
who expects Ronn or Vill to make cream pie with my
first statement  ;)


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