A novelty discovered in the field of primatology - that branch of biology that occasionally helps us better understand our ancestors and ourselves - has caught the attention of the scientific community: "For the first time, chimpanzees have been observed using tools to clean the corpse of a deceased member of the group.A female chimpanzee sat next to the body of a young male, selected a firm stem of grass and began to carefully remove some debris between her teeth, "explains an academic research carried out carried out by scientists from the University of St.Andrews (Scotland) and published on the portal 'Nature'.
"Noel, a wild chimpanzee who lives in the Chimfunshi Wildlife Biological Reserve in Zambia, assisted the body of Thomas, a nine-year-old male who had adopted when the mother died four years earlier." explains the text of the report. It is the first time that this use of utensils is observed and scientifically recorded as part of a mourning ritual. In the following video, broadcast on Youtube by New Scientist magazine, you can see the scene:
Researchers assume that this young specimen probably died of an infection in the lung.
For the team of authors of this study, the actions of the adult chimpanzee, Noel, imply an important suggestion: that the chimps treat the corpses of their family members with respect, in a similar way to how humans treat them.
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