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Chimp Found Plotting Against Zoo Guests
rjshirts writes "In further proof that Planet of the Apes is coming to pass, researchers in Stockholm, Sweden have proof that primates can plan ahead.
From the article:
'Santino the chimpanzee's anti-social behavior stunned both visitors and keepers at the Furuvik Zoo but fascinated researchers because it was so carefully prepared.
According to a report in the journal Current Biology, the 31-year-old alpha male started building his weapons cache in the morning before the zoo opened, collecting rocks and knocking out disks from concrete boulders inside his enclosure. He waited until around midday before he unleashed a "hailstorm" of rocks against visitors, the study said.'"
Translation: "I'm an intelligent primate who doesn't like being caged up for your amusement."
Trolling is a art,
Bring me that Jane Goodall chick!
http://ebgp.net/ccc/
welcome our well perpaired monkey overloards...
-Ours is the wisdom of Solomon, the magic of Merlyn, the fall of Icaris.
Rocks or feces...hmmmm.
Maybe I'll just stick with chairs.
I'm always surprised when science finds out about something I already knew. Now, I know I probably know things that actually aren't true, but sometimes it's downright shocking that people didn't know something. :/
Please stop stalking me, bro.
And no escape plan? It seems he didn't plan ahead far enough.
No existe.
> "...researchers observe Chimp drinking water in preparation to spit on humans lurking just outside cage."
C'mon - anyone visiting a zoo has had opportunity to observe such behavior...how is a monkey's ammo bunker such a surprise.
Although I have no basis for this observation, this new, violent behavior is clearly a result of exposure to violent video games. I'm proposing a measure to restrict the same of video games to primates. Won't someone please think about our zoo-faring children?
The fact that chimpanzees are so close to us is a strong argument for us to defend them.
No the fact that chimps are so close to us is a strong argument to wipe the little bastards out quick before they figure out a way to take us out! Every day we find out Chimpanzees are more and more like us... I don't know about you, but that scares the hell out of me!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
"For a while, zoo keepers tried locking Santino up in the morning so he couldn't collect ammunition for his assaults, but he remained aggressive. They ultimately decided to castrate him in the autumn last year, but will have to wait until the summer to see if that helps."
Guns don't kill people...uh oh!
"It is normal behavior for alpha males to want to influence their surroundings ... It is extremely frustrating for him that there are people out of his reach who are pointing at him and laughing," Osvath said. "It cannot be good to be so furious all the time."
Now we know why review sites get sued.
Shai Schticks:"You don't make peace with friends, you make peace with enemies"
You maniacs - you blew it up!
Scientists point out problems, engineers fix them
altslashdot.org: The future of slashdot.
In the bigger picture of things, chimps aren't so very different from us. Roll our technology back 50,000 years, and hairstyles become the most immediately obvious difference.
People always say "Chimp crime these days, it's out of control". But they do this with no historical perspective. When chimp crime peaked in the mid 1970s, chimps would hurl feces, not rocks, and we'd think ourselves lucky if it hadn't been eating apricots the meal earlier. I blame the internet and sensationalist media for making everyone think the problem is getting worse, when really it's getting better.
"In this case, the chimp remembered that people were outside of his cage on other days, and realized that that would probably be true again. He prepared for that prediction. Animals just don't tend to plan ahead, and it's exciting that this one did."
You mean like when elephants come back to the same grazing area year after year?
Shai Schticks:"You don't make peace with friends, you make peace with enemies"
A good friend who past away a few years ago introduced me to some long time friends of his who own many chimps. One thing I was told flat out was, don't get near the cages. They are very good at trying to tempt people closer and never for any good. They will fondle themselves in front of you, throw stuff at you, and even be very violent should it be their wish. The problem is they are very very good at hiding the signs when it serves them. All of their chimps had their incisors (fang teeth) removed. For while they are very cute when young they would shame any unruly teenager when they are of age.
While I got a handshake and even a hug from one of the better behaved I was told that in no uncertain terms he was putting on a show to please them. Alone it would be a whole different story.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
The fact that chimpanzees are so close to us is a strong argument for us to defend them.
It's also a strong argument to destroy them utterly as prophylaxis to prevent other HIV-like disease crossovers into our population.
the 31-year-old alpha male
Not anymore - according to TFA he was castrated last year...
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
"That's the second biggest monkey I've ever seen" I would have been more impressed if he declared "my name is Mr. Fossey" and challenged the visitors to insult sword fighting...
should throw some rocks back, and teach the little bastard a lesson.
No wonder he was sullen and attacking people - do you have any idea how cold it is in Sweden this time of year? Particularly for an animal used to living in equatorial Africa!
It's impressive, but can it arrange the rocks into the text of a new stimulous bill?
I see your point, but how is this an example of confusing correlation with causation?
caritj.org
In only a few million years they might rebel with fire and arrowheads.
Honestly, I was about to post something like this myself about my own post. :) I don't know why I said correlation. I think I'm feeling jet lagged from the changeover to DST.
Coincidence is not causation might be a better way to put it.
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
LOL. Understandable; and besides, let's face it, "correlation is not causation" is usually a safe default response around here. :)
caritj.org
Given the full article implies the chimp exhibited this behavior regularly, I would say it's a simpler assumption that he gathered the rocks with the intention of throwing them. Also, it was a relatively recent discovery than many primate (and a few other animal species) use tools in the wild. I suspect there are very large gaps in the observational records of primates such that a blanket assertion that this behavior has never been observered would be untenable.
Chimps are Terrifying.
"MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
Given the full article implies the chimp exhibited this behavior regularly, I would say it's a simpler assumption that he gathered the rocks with the intention of throwing them.
It's not simpler at all. The chimp may just have two behaviors that happen to overlap: 1) gathering rocks for fun, and 2) throwing rocks at people. Where is the evidence that the two behaviors are linked?
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
Defend them? Or destroy them?
Soooooo, building nests and collecting food isn't 'planning ahead'?
Anyhoo, baboons frequently stone people and cars and they are way dumber than chimps. Even squirrels are known to toss acorns at passer's by.
(You are only a real Stellenboscher once a squirrel tossed an acorn at your head!)
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
Perhaps the simians are smarter than Congress... at least they plan ahead.....
Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
I am far from an animal-rights activist, but my observations have been that humans generally consider non-human life to be really, really dumb. That's really just a way for us to feel superior regardless of any uncomfortable reality.
Shamefully, we even go so far as to make those distinctions between groups of humans.
It would seem that we are not so smart as we think and others are smarter than we feel comfortable with.
Big surprise . . .
"I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it." : Dogbert
that primates can plan ahead!
One bit of evidence is that he didn't do it in the off-season. Only on days when there were likely to be a lot of people.
If the masses can keep you down, you're not the Ubermensch.
The people studying animal behavior have tunnel vision as a result of their observations. Simple behavior such as building a cache of rocks to throw I probably would have assumed primates were capable of. A lot of people severely underestimate animals. I think in terms of research we become so focused on defining animal behavior in terms of absolutes (either can or can't perform x specific action) that it somehow seems astounding when an animal does something we hadn't specifically documented.
I just naturally assume that apes not only plan for the future, but I think they probably daydream about things that aren't even possible too. Instead of narrowly defining what we have observed animals doing, we should make rather broad assumptions about their abilities until we're proven wrong.
King Kong Defence!
I thought "started building his weapons cache" was a euphemism, only to find out it's just rocks and stone discs. I am simultaneously disappointed and relieved.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, watch it -- I'm huge!
Thank goodness that Tim Bedore already knew about this. Glad he is on our side keeping watch against the coming animal conspiracy!
See my Home Theater
This was clearly an orchestrated retaliation, months in the planning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFX-dKpcDz8
"In your face humans"
---- Booth was a patriot ----
"Santino the chimpanzee's anti-social behavior stunned both visitors and keepers at the Furuvik Zoo but fascinated researchers because it was so carefully prepared."
Which is more anti-social: Keeping a human-like animal locked in a cage or the caged animal throwing rocks at its captors?
My non-scientific conclusion was human babies need more love.
I wonder if badness of chimps has to do with lack of proper parental guidance. They learn similar to humans, are they taught 'morals' in the wild? (Or at least, if I get all bad, someone more bad will bust face)
I thought his name was Caesar?
For a while, zoo keepers tried locking Santino up in the morning so he couldn't collect ammunition for his assaults, but he remained aggressive. They ultimately decided to castrate him in the autumn last year, but will have to wait until the summer to see if that helps. The chimpanzees are only kept outdoors between April and October and Santino's special behavior usually occurs in June and July. "It is normal behavior for alpha males to want to influence their surroundings ... It is extremely frustrating for him that there are people out of his reach who are pointing at him and laughing," Osvath said. "It cannot be good to be so furious all the time."
Isn't it slightly screwy that the first priority of the zoo is not on the chimp's well-being but on his ability to be a docile show animal? If you can't meet his needs you shouldn't have him in the first place.
Because it's an aspect of chimpanzee intelligence that hadn't previously been observed, apparently. One of the key differences between humans and animals is that humans have a much more advanced ability to predict what will happen in the future and to make preparations to deal with that prediction
So squirrels and other animals who hide their food are just doing it for fun? Surely the behaviour in these animals is evidence that they are capable of planning for a future time or event.
Quite honestly, I find it arrogant for us to consider animals unintelligent. They may not have the same degree of 'intelligence', but if their level of intelligence allows them to survive, then they are most certainly doing better than us, IMHO.
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
now the surroundings are influencing the alpha male, guess he won't be an alpha male for long.
now we know what it must have been like for W.
hmmmm, maybe they could have put signs up instead of cut the monkeys nuts off!!!
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
Banyak orang orang disini.
LedgerSMB: Open source Accounting/ERP
Indeed, Lance Link would have know how to deal with these arrogant apes.
Yeah, you know it...
As Pete Davis has said time and again, "Kids, never trust a monkey!"
Just be thankful he didn't poo all over his weapons before throwing them. An open wound mixed with chimp feces would surely lead to some new strain of a yet undiscovered virus.
so what do they do? They castrate him.
So very Planet of the Homo Sapiens.
Codifex Maximus ~ In search of... a shorter sig.
Is this any different to birds that use bread to fish for their pray? Just youtube fishing bird and many hits will show birds taking bread to the water, placing that bread in the water and waiting for a fish.
Repeat after me: There is no border between "instinct" and "cogent thought".
Brilliant, even though the explaination of that quote is somewhat garbled.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
This is not news. Baboons do this too.
From: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=482576
The Austin Chronicle
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2001-07-27/cols_smartypants.html
"Stone-throwing baboons in Saudi Arabia waited three days on the side
of a mountain road to take revenge on a driver who had killed one of
their group.
Al-Riyadh reported on Saturday that the primates laid in wait and
ambushed the driver on the same mountain road in southwest Saudi
Arabia from Mecca to Taif where the baboon had been run down earlier
in the week.
After spotting the car responsible for the death, one of the apes
screamed out a signal to the rest to attack, provoking the frenzied
stone throwing. Although the driver was able to escape, the apes broke
out the windshield of his car.
At least 350,000 baboons live in the Gulf state."
LUSENET: STONE-THROWING BABOONS TAKE REVENGE ON DRIVER
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=004CxB
"In Saudi Arabia, a man learned a lesson in baboon gang warfare.
Apparently, earlier in the week the man was driving through a
mountainous road where he ran over a baboon. Thinking nothing of it,
the driver got back in his car and resumed his life... Finally, the
grieving baboons implemented their revenge. They lay hiding on the
side of the exact mountainous road where their beloved pal had been
killed and waited for the driver. When the car was spotted, one of the
baboons screamed out a signal and the others began to bombard the car
with rocks and stones. The driver escaped, sporting newly soiled
underwear and a broken windshield."
Tablet Newspaper: Monkey Love
http://www.tabletnewspaper.com/vol2iss_21/features/monkeylove.htm
"Stone-throwing baboons waited three days for revenge on the side of a
mountain road in Saudi Arabia to take revenge on a motorist who had
killed one of their group. After finally spotting the car responsible
for the death, one of the apes screamed out a signal for the rest to
attack, provoking a frenzied bout of stone throwing. The baboons then
ripped out the windscreen of the car. The driver managed to escape the
attack, which took place on the same stretch of road, between Mecca
and Taif, where the baboon had been run down."
Ananova: Revenge attack by stone-throwing baboons
http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/academic/class/16741-s05/www/baboons09122000.pdf
"Stone-throwing baboons in Saudi Arabia waited three days on the side
of a mountain road to take revenge on a driver who had killed one of
their group. Al-Riyadh reported on Saturday that the primates laid in
wait and ambushed the driver on the same mountain road in southwest
Saudi Arabia from Mecca to Taif where the baboon had been run down
earlier in the week. After spotting the car responsible for the death,
one of the apes screamed out a signal to the rest to attack, provoking
the frenzied stone throwing. Although the driver was able to escape,
the apes broke out the windshield of his car. At least 350,000 baboons
live in the Gulf state. Who says animals have no emotions? If you can
plot revenge, you must be able to feel anger."
The Jekyl Archives
http://www.jekyl.com/jekyl/arc_2000.htm
"Saudi Arabia is particularly baboon prone these days, with tales of
baboons raiding farms, houses, and even schools. But probably the
strangest report was where a troop deliberately wait in ambush.
According to newspaper accounts,
The same could be said regarding Pavlov's dogs (well it was a breakthrough). The dogs were "conditioned" to salivate when the bell rang. Was it conditioning, or was it predicting a future event based on specific stimulus?
You may disagree with his views, but there is no insult or even harsh language.
She made the willows dance
welcome our new primate overlords.
You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!
Shortly afterwards this chimp lost his obstacles because he was too agressive. Sometimes its worth beeing ashamed of homo sapiens sapiens.
ehm testicles. Sorry
GET OFF MY LAWN!!!
An effective "democracy" creates the illusion the people have a say in their government.
Could this mean that evolution is at work here and that chimps are beginning to exhibit behavior that they previously were incapable of?
Slashdot - I went there to fix their grammar that they're so bad at.
Obviously the chimp was playing the violent GTA hot-coffee version of Zoo Tycoon which caused him to lash out this way.
Since I live only about 15km from this "einstainian" ape I will make sure to lock my door.
We get that Shakespeare play from Bobo the chimp?
Maybe the keepers should leave a typewriter in there with him and see what develops.
WTF? Over?
Does this mean we should stop eating those monkey-meat tacos?
we have found the first primate terrorist. are we gonna keep him in the zoo or put him on trial?
We're still the bosses round this neck of the woods.
Since no one was saying anything of the sort, I can only conclude that you are yourself a monkey trying to troll and not doing a good job of it.
... Oh great, fucking non-editable replies, I meant no one was saying anything like "Monkeys are just as smart as us." Well, that pretty much ruins MY day.
Am I the only one that wants to post "castration is not causation"
There is no right to feel safe thru security vaudeville at the expense of everyone's freedom, privacy and tax money.
Stockholm syndrome?
<ducks>
oooh Chimpanzee that...MONKEY NEWS!!!!
Well that's stupid, he used his HANDS to throw the rocks.
Now he'll have MORE time to throw rocks since he won't be thinking so much about fucking the chimpettes....
Monkeys teach offspring to floss their teeth
http://michaelsmith.id.au
And I totally read that as "correlation with castration".
Which may make sense in the context.
I'm a she-slashdotter... but I make up for it by living with my folks.