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Baby chimpanzees are just cute! They are amazing creatures most like humans on the planet. Did you know that baby chimpanzees can laugh while playing or that at birth they know how to grab their mothers to survive?
Keep reading to learn five incredible facts and see some adorable photos of baby chimpanzees.
#1: A psychologist raised a baby chimpanzee next to his baby for science!
In 1931, a psychologist, Winthrop Niles Kellogg, decided to raise a baby chimpanzee along with this newborn baby. His experiment was to see if the baby chimpanzee could pick up on human traits if raised in the same way as human babies. While conducting his experiment, the baby chimpanzee did well in the tests he conducted to compare the two babies.
After a while, however, the baby chimpanzee reached a plateau and also failed the tests. Kellogg and his wife decided to end the experiment early just nine months after it started. There was no documented reason why it was discontinued, but there is speculation that the Kelloggs may have been concerned for their son’s safety due to the chimpanzee’s size and strength.
#2: Baby Chimpanzees Laugh While Playing
There is no doubt that baby chimpanzees have many similarities with humans, and laughter is one of them! While playing with other baby chimpanzees, mothers or other members of their families, scientists have observed these amazing primates smiling, cuddle and even walk on two legs!
In addition, baby chimpanzees also live in communities like human babies. Their communities help educate the babies by helping to protect them from danger, ‘care’ and teach the babies new skills. In other words, chimpanzee mothers have a “village” to raise their young.
Another great similarity baby chimpanzees have with human chimpanzees is their ability to share. However, instead of sharing toys and games, baby chimpanzees learn to share tools and food with their friends. That’s pretty awesome!
#3: Chimpanzees stay with their mothers for seven to ten years
Baby chimpanzees learn everything they know from their mothers. For the first six months of their lives, they are completely dependent on their mother, not only for protection, but also for travel by clinging to their mother’s chest. After that, they are a bit more mobile, but they still cling to their mother’s back to travel longer distances until they are about two years old.
At the age of two, chimpanzees are old enough to be largely independent enough to travel and live with their communities. However, they are not yet ready to venture into the wilderness on their own. Instead, they spend the next few years with their mothers. During this time, they learn how to find food, build nests for sleeping, and use tools in their daily lives to survive.
#4: Baby Chimpanzees Are Human Babies’ Closest Relatives
Did you know that baby chimpanzees are very closely related to? human babies? It’s true! Scientists have found that chimpanzees share 98.8% of their DNA with human babies. They also have many other similar traits such as expressive faces, toes and fingers that can grasp. They can even learn to smile and love being tickled!
Baby chimpanzees have even been able to learn sign language to communicate with humans! They are among the most intelligent animals on Earth. When they are born, they have the cognitive function and brain development similar to that of an 18-month-old human baby. That’s a smart cookie!
#5: Baby chimpanzees are born and know how to hold their mother
If a baby knows how to do something without needing to be taught it, it is called an innate ability. One of the most fascinating facts about baby chimpanzees is that they know how to hold their mother at birth. Their grip is also surprisingly strong – they can hold their mother as she travels for miles through the trees.
Since this trait is essential to their survival, as they don’t get around very well as newborns, it’s pretty amazing. Baby chimpanzees first cling to their mother’s chest. As they get older, stronger and more independent, they eventually switch to riding on their mother’s back for long distances and can eventually travel alone.
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