Natures wonders: chimps look both ways (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, April 17, 2015, 19:48 (3506 days ago) @ David Turell

Crossing active roads, they look both ways and help slower ones:-http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27370-wild-chimps-look-both-ways-before-crossing-roads.html#.VTFaK2B0y1s-"In a 29-month survey, researchers observed and recorded 20 instances of wild chimps crossing a busy road in Sebitoli, in the northern part of Uganda's Kibale National Park. They watched 122 chimps cross the highway used by 90 vehicles an hour, many speeding at 70 to 100 kilometres an hour.-"It's the first report on how chimpanzees behave crossing a very busy asphalt road, says Marie Cibot of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. "We've described chimpanzee behaviour facing a dangerous situation never described before," she says, pointing out that earlier studies looked at narrower, unpaved and less busy roads.-"Chimps are exceptionally cautious when they cross the road. Ninety-two per cent of them looked right, left, or both ways before or during crossing, and 57 per cent ran across - showing that they knew the value of reaching the other side as quickly as possible.-"Alpha males led and organised 83 per cent of the road-crossing posses, compared with only 51 per cent of tree-climbing expeditions in the forest studied in parallel. This implies that they recognised the importance of extra vigilance during road crossings."