Orangutans Hand It To The Researchers Orangutans Intelligence

Orangutans Intelligence
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Orangutans Intelligence
Orangutans possess intelligence that in some way similar to that of humans. Researchers find that orangutans try to communicate using gestures in the same way humans do. The apes possess the ability to understand their observers and react appropriately. Another research found that wild orangutans can perceive the future, prepare for it and communicate those plans to other orangutans. Orangutans can use tools to retrieve food and then save their tools for later use. Research also shows that orangutans may have cultural traditions similar to humans, which they start learning even at a very young age.
Richard Byrne and his colleagues at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland experimented with captive female orangutans. In a series of sessions, they offered the orangutans a whole serving of favorite food, a half serving or food that the apes disliked. They then took note of the signals the animals made before, during and after the food was given to them (Barry, 2007). Byrne observed that the orangutans exhibited gestures that had a more or less precise meaning, noting that such abilities are often considered uniquely human. The ape would increase the frequency of the gesture it was making before the food appeared when offered half a portion of favorite food, as a signal that it wanted more. The orangutan altered the gesture it was making before the food appeared when offered food it disliked, interpreted as a misunderstanding of the animal by the food giver (Barry, 2007). The researchers observed that the orangutans were reacting to the mental state of the food giver similar method people use when playing the party game Charades.
A team of anthropologists at the University of Zurich observed 15 dominant males on the island of Sumatra in western Indonesia for a couple of years (Bedard, 2014). Every couple of hours the males emit loud yells as they roam through the dense jungle to signal the females they protect and mate with as well as any other males nearby. Although these yells have been recorded and observed by other researchers, the team was interested in the last call made by the males each day. A long howl aimed in the direction they will travel the next morning. Upon hearing this call, the females stop their movement and settle down for the night. The following morning they begin moving in the direction indicated by the male the night before (Bedard, 2014). According to the researchers, the dominant males plan the route and communicate their plans to orangutans i...