Monkey talk not just chattering

Words may not come easy to them but it appears the communications barrier between mankind and our nearest animal relatives may be smaller than we thought.


Scientists have discovered that far from monkeying around, the message is loud and clear when chimpanzees want to get their point across

Chimps are mankind's closest relations in the animal kingdom, sharing 95 per cent of our DNA and many of our characteristics - including ambition and aggression, which can lead to arguments and occasional violence - and now it appears they may also have some of our basic communication skills.

A study into the evolution of communication among the apes found that, depending on whether they are defending or attacking, chimpanzees emit varying cries that alert relatives and allies to what is happening.

The two-year research programme by psychologists from the University of St Andrews has discovered that the subtle differences in vocalisations may have been developed to provide important clues for nearby allies.

Led by PhD student Katie Slocombe, the research team found that chimpanzees screamed differently depending on whether they are the aggressor or the victim and that these calls are intended to tell nearby allies and relatives about the identity and social role of the group members involved in a fight.

Watching chimps may then use this information to decide whether it is necessary to intervene in an ongoing fight.

"Our study into the complexity of chimpanzee vocalisation, both in the wild and at the zoo, found that chimpanzees that are the victim of an attack produce screams that are acoustically different from the attacking chimpanzee," said Ms Slocombe, who spent eight months in the Budongo Forest, Uganda, studying a group of wild chimpanzees.

"The acoustic differences were consistent across all 14 individuals observed, suggesting chimps produce reliable information about their current social role during a fight.

"In their native rainforest habitat this may provide important clues for nearby friends, allies or relatives, particularly as to whether or not they should approach and intervene in an ongoing fight."

Previous research by scientists indicated that chimps have a "vocabulary" of about 30 "words" or sounds that enable them to communicate with other members of their groups. But the new research suggests that the chatter used by chimps may be much more complicated and detailed.

Using acoustic measurements to verify the different subtle sounds that were missed by the human ear, the St Andrews study examined the sounds for fear, fright and surprise.

"The next step is to conduct playback experiment to see what other chimps gain from the hearing the screams.

"Our theory," said Ms Slocombe, "is that chimps unable to see the fight will be able to gain important social information from just listening to the screams, just as we would overhear a conversation and gain information from it."

- INDEPENDENT