Biologists have documented the bizarrely intimate behaviour of a Pan troglodytes using a tool to pick the tooth of a clay group member ( video below ) . Not only does this provide researcher with further perceptiveness into the emotional intelligence of apes , but it could shed light on the evolutionary origins of human ritualize death .
scientist from the University of St Andrews in Scotland captured the behaviour for the first time at Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust in Zambia . They watched as Noel , a rampantly - born distaff Pan troglodytes , come across the dead body of her adopted Word Thomas . Their study inNature Scientific Reportsdetails how she border on him and sits down beside his head almost instantly after seeing the body . She then selects a vane of hard grass from the ground , open Thomas ’ mouth , and appears to clean his tooth with the grass .
The behaviour is all the more strange because the researcher take down they had not watch any of the chimps at Chimfunshi perform tool - assisted tooth cleaning during their 8,000 hr of observation .
“ Death responses represent core features of human civilisation with great diversity in mortuary rites found across cultures , ” the field authors note . “ We present a valid case of unequalled non - human animate being behaviour which could shed luminosity on the evolution of behaviour that are believed to be typically human . ”
However , ProfessorKlaus Zuberbuehler , who was n’t involve in the study , is cautious to stretch out the ending too far . It ’s possible the chimpanzee is in reality just take exception by the decease of a group member becoming short static .
Thibaud Gruber of the University of Geneva toldNew Scientist : “ We simply do not acknowledge if and how much chimps translate about destruction . In other words , it is unclear whether this is ‘ stiff cleaning ’ , or simply ‘ social cleaning ’ . But certainly , it contribute on behavioral descriptions of strange demeanour displayed by Pan troglodytes when they front the death of one of their specie . ”
