Hairy helping hands.No other primate primate, member of the mammalian order Primates, which includes humans, apes, monkeys, and prosimians, or lower primates. The group can be traced to the late Cretaceous period, where members were forest dwellers. shows the same degree of helpfulness to others as humans. But recent studies at the Max Planck Noun 1. Max Planck - German physicist whose explanation of blackbody radiation in the context of quantized energy emissions initiated quantum theory (1858-1947) Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck, Planck Institute in Germany Germany (jûr`mənē), Ger. Deutschland, officially Federal Republic of Germany, republic (2005 est. pop. 82,431,000), 137,699 sq mi (356,733 sq km). suggest that chimpanzees are also a highly cooperative species. Researchers placed some food outside a cage containing an adult chimp; it was possible to get to the food by pulling on two ropes. In some trials, the ropes were too far apart for the chimp to get the food on its own. The chimp could get help by opening the door to an adjoining cage holding another chimp. The chimps were more likely to open the door when the ropes were too far apart for them. "They know when they need help," says researcher Brian Hare hare, name for certain herbivorous mammals of the family Leporidae, which also includes the rabbit and pika. The name is applied especially to species of the genus Lepus, sometimes called the true hares. . Chimps even remembered who did a good job: Given a choice between two potential helpers, they usually chose the better rope-puller. |
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