Communication of Chimpanzees

                                 

                                   Communication of Chimpanzees

           When it comes to staying in touch with friends , it appears chimpanzees have their own type of social media . Forget Facebook though , the apes use their own individual drumming beats to send messages to their friends more than 3,280ft ( 1km ) away , a new study has revealed . 

        They take advantage of the huge roots of rainforest trees to carry the sounds of their tap ping with their hands and feet through dense , humid forests . Scientists discovered that some chimpanzees in Uganda's Budongo Forest have a regular rhythm like rock and blues drummers , while others have more syncopated or more variable rhythms like jazz . 

        The University of St Andrews study shows male chimpanzees have their own signature rhythms which allow them to send information that reveals who is where , and what they are doing .

                                                                        How Chimps Learn

         Scientists studying the Son so chimpanzee community living in Uganda's Budongo Forest have been able to witness how the animals teach each other to use tools . The analysis began when one chimp called Nick , the 29 - year-old alpha male chimpanzee , made a moss sponge while being watched by Nambi , a dominant adult female .

         Over the next six days a further seven individuals made and used moss sponges . Six of these had observed the behaviour before adopting it and the seventh was seen to re - use a discarded moss sponge so may have learned about the novel behaviour in this way. 

Communication of Chimpanzees

               The scientists also recorded a 12 - year - old sub - adult male retrieve and use a discarded leaf sponge . Researchers were able to identify individual chimps by their drumming and said some had beats so fast they could barely see their hands moving . Senior study author Dr. Catherine Hobaiter said : ' We could.

        Often recognize who was drumming when we heard them , and it was a fantastic way to find the different chimpanzees we were looking for - so if we could do it , we were sure they could too . ' It's lovely to finally show how it works . 

        ' One thing that has always been a puzzle is why chimpanzees greet each other but very rarely seem to say goodbye . ' Our results might help to explain this chimpanzees are rarely really out of contact , even when kilometers apart these long - distance signals allow them to keep in touch with who is where . 

        ' It's as though they have their own social media that allows them to check in through the day . The chimps combine their drumming with long - distance calls , called pant - hoots , and different males also drum at different points in the call . Lead author , PhD student Vesta Eleuteri , said : " This really looks like chimp social media . ' Indeed , we also found that chimpanzees drum more often when they're alone or in small groups 

" This means that they drum to know where others are and decide whether to join them or not . ' 

                                                                        Regular rhythms 

        Scientists discovered that some chimpanzees in Uganda's Budongo Forest have a regular rhythm like rock and blues drummers , while others have more syncopated or more variable rhythms like jazz.

         She added : ' I was surprised o that I was able to recognize who was drumming after just a few weeks in the forest . 202 ' But their drumming rhythms are so distinctive that it's easy to pick up on them.

         ' For example , Tristan the John Bonham ( Led Zeppelin ) , of the forest makes very fast drums with many evenly separated beats . - MO ' His drumming is so fast that you can barely see his hands . ' Ben , the alpha male , also has a peculiar style : he makes two closely following beats separated by one or two more distant beats .