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Ape Imagination: Bonobo Kanzi Shows Pretend Play Skills
9 Feb
Summary
- Bonobo Kanzi participated in experiments demonstrating pretend play.
- Kanzi could distinguish between real and imaginary juice and grapes.
- Study suggests capacity for pretend objects is not uniquely human.
A recent study published in Science suggests that great apes possess the capacity for pretend play, a cognitive ability long considered uniquely human. This groundbreaking research focused on a bonobo named Kanzi, who participated in controlled experiments.
Kanzi demonstrated his imaginative skills by successfully distinguishing between real and imaginary juice and grapes in a series of tests conducted in 2024. He accurately identified which containers held pretend items more often than chance would allow.
