Apes News

June 3, 2025

Top Headlines

This Gene Variant Contributed to the Dietary and Physiological Evolution of Modern Humans

May 21, 2025 — Two of the traits that set modern humans apart from non-human primates are taller stature and a higher basal metabolic rate. Researchers have identified a genetic variant that contributed to the ...

Family of Parasite Proteins Presents New Potential Malaria Treatment Target

May 19, 2025 — Researchers have shown that the evolution of a family of exported proteins in the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium falciparum enabled it to infect ...

Wild Orangutans Show Communication Complexity Thought to Be Uniquely Human

May 16, 2025 — Researchers have found that wild orangutans vocalize with a layered complexity previously thought to be unique to human communication, suggesting a much older evolutionary ...

Not All Orangutan Mothers Raise Their Infants the Same Way

May 13, 2025 — Sumatran orangutan mothers differ from one another in how they behave with and take care of their infants and how flexibly they adjust their mothering behaviors as their infants grow. Whilst mothers differed from one another in their maternal ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:49pm EDT

Evidence of Mother-Offspring Attachment Types in Wild Chimpanzees

May 12, 2025 — A team of researchers has identified distinct mother-offspring attachment types in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus). Drawing parallels with human psychology, the study provides compelling ...

The Origins of Language

May 9, 2025 — Wild chimpanzees alter the meaning of single calls when embedding them into diverse call combinations, mirroring linguistic operations in human language. Human language, however, allows an infinite ...

Chimpanzee Groups Drum With Distinct Rhythms

May 9, 2025 — New research from a team of cognitive scientists and evolutionary biologists finds that chimpanzees drum rhythmically, using regular spacing between drum hits. Their results show that eastern and ...

Red Alert for Our Closest Relatives

May 8, 2025 — New report shows drastic decline in endangered primates and calls for conservation ...

Gorilla Study Reveals Complex Pros and Cons of Friendship

May 5, 2025 — Friendship comes with complex pros and cons -- possibly explaining why some individuals are less sociable, according to a new study of ...

Zoo Life Boosts Object Exploration in Orangutans

Apr. 30, 2025 — A new study comparing wild and zoo-housed Sumatran orangutans reveals that life in a zoo significantly alters how orangutans interact with their environment. Researchers analyzed over 12,000 ...

Wild Chimps Filmed Sharing 'Boozy' Fruit

Apr. 21, 2025 — Wild chimpanzees have been pictured eating and sharing fruit containing ...

Six Ape Genomes Sequenced Telomere-to-Telomere

Apr. 9, 2025 — Comprehensive reference genomes have now been assembled for six ape species: siamang (a Southeast Asian gibbon), Sumatran orangutan, Bornean orangutan, gorilla, bonobo and chimpanzee. Areas of their ...

Monkeys Are World's Best Yodellers -- New Research

Apr. 2, 2025 — A new study has found that the world's finest yodellers aren't from Austria or Switzerland, but the rainforests of Latin America. The research provides significant new insights into the diverse vocal ...

How Did the Large Brain Evolve?

Mar. 26, 2025 — Two specific genes that evolve exclusively in humans jointly influence the development of the cerebrum. Researchers have provided evidence that these genes contribute together to the evolutionary ...

Chimpanzees Act as 'Engineers', Choosing Materials to Make Tools Based on Structural and Mechanical Properties

Mar. 24, 2025 — Researchers have discovered that chimpanzees living in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania employ a degree of engineering when making their tools, deliberately choosing plants that provide ...

Don't Know Something? Apes Can Tell

Feb. 3, 2025 — To get treats, apes eagerly pointed them out to humans who didn't know where they were, a seemingly simple experiment that demonstrated for the first time that apes will communicate unknown ...

In Chimpanzees, Peeing Is Contagious

Jan. 20, 2025 — A new study has described a phenomenon researchers refer to as 'contagious urinations.' The study in 20 captive chimpanzees living at the Kumamoto Sanctuary in Japan shows that, when one ...

Chimpanzees Are Genetically Adapted to Local Habitats and Infections Such as Malaria

Jan. 9, 2025 — Chimpanzees bear genetic adaptations that help them thrive in their different forest and savannah habitats, some of which may protect against malaria, according to a study by an international ...

Chimpanzees Perform the Same Complex Behaviors That Have Brought Humans Success

Dec. 5, 2024 — A new study suggests that the fundamental abilities underlying human language and technological culture may have evolved before humans and apes diverged millions of years ...

The Secret to Our Big Brains Might Be in Our Gut

Dec. 4, 2024 — Brain tissue is among the most energetically costly in the body, and as a result, larger-brained mammals require more energy to support brain growth and maintenance. Exactly which biological changes ...

In 'World's Bonobo Stronghold' Rangers and Pristine Forest Sustain a Stable Population

Dec. 2, 2024 — Scientists now know how many bonobos live in one of the largest pristine tropical forests, a place believed to be the world's stronghold for the endangered species. The research estimates that ...

'Genetic Time Machine' Reveals Complex Chimpanzee Cultures

Nov. 27, 2024 — Chimpanzees are known for their remarkable intelligence and use of tools, but could their cultures also evolve over time like human cultures? A new, multidisciplinary study suggests that some of ...

Great Apes Visually Track Subject-Object Relationships Like Humans Do, Study Finds

Nov. 26, 2024 — Great apes track events with their eyes in the same way that humans do, according to a new ...

These Wild Chimpanzees Play as Adults to Better Cooperate as a Group

Nov. 21, 2024 — Compared to children, adults don't play as much, but social play into adulthood is considered a universal human trait. Play has a role in building tolerance, cohesion, bonding, and cooperation. ...

Friendly Social Behaviors Are Contagious for Chimpanzees

Nov. 20, 2024 — Chimpanzees are more likely to engage in play or groom each other if they see others performing these social behaviors first, researchers ...

Chimpanzees Perform Better on Challenging Computer Tasks When They Have an Audience

Nov. 8, 2024 — When people have an audience watching them, it can change their performance for better or worse. Now, researchers have found that chimpanzees' performance on computer tasks is influenced by the ...

Oct. 30, 2024 — In common marmosets, the brain regions that process social interactions develop very slowly, extending until early adulthood, like in humans. During this time, all group members are involved in ...

It's Not to Be. Universe Too Short for Shakespeare Typing Monkeys

Oct. 30, 2024 — It would take far longer than the lifespan of our universe for a typing monkey to randomly produce Shakespeare, a new study ...

Why Langurs Drink Salt Water

Oct. 28, 2024 — A new study shows the remarkable adaptability of the critically endangered Cat Ba langurs. Despite low genetic diversity, the langurs have retained key genetic traits that help them survive in their ...

Birth: It's a Tight Squeeze for Chimpanzees, Too

Oct. 23, 2024 — According to a new study, chimpanzees, like humans, must contend with a confined bony birth canal when giving birth. In humans, the problem was exacerbated by our unique form of upright walking since ...

Bonobos May Be More Vulnerable Than Previously Thought, Suggests Genetics Study

Oct. 15, 2024 — Bonobos, endangered great apes that are among our closest relatives, might be more vulnerable than previously understood, finds a genetics study that reveals three distinct ...

Dance, Gibbon, Dance!

Oct. 11, 2024 — Female crested gibbons display jerky, almost geometric patterns of movement. Researchers have studied these conspicuous movements, which are comparable to human dances. They describe the structure of ...

Self-Medicating Gorillas and Traditional Healers Provide Clues for New Drug Discovery

Sep. 11, 2024 — Four plants consumed by wild gorillas in Gabon and used by local communities in traditional medicine show antibacterial and antioxidant properties, researchers ...

Multiple Ways to Evolve Tiny Knee Bone Could Have Helped Humans Walk Upright

Sep. 11, 2024 — The evolution of bones in primates' knees could have implications for how humans evolved to walk ...