Press

January 27, 2010: Altruism in Forest Chimpanzees: The Case of Adoption

Max Planck researchers report 18 cases of adoption of orphaned youngsters by group members in Taï forest chimpanzees. Half of the orphans were adopted by males.
These observations reveal that, under the appropriate socio-ecologic conditions, chimpanzees care for unrelated group members and that altruism is more extensive in wild populations than was suggested by captive studies.

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Claudia Nebel (E-Mail: nebelateva.mpg.de, phone: +49 (0) 341-3550 200)

Original work:

Christophe Boesch, Camille Bolé, Nadin Eckhardt, Hedwige Boesch
Altruism in Forest Chimpanzees: The case of Adoption.
PLOSone, January 2010

Photos: Chimpanzees of the Taï National Park in Côte d`Ivoire

Freddy and Xylia sharing

Freddy opens Xylia seedpods and shares them
with Victor.

Victor sleeping

Victor leans on his foster father while sleeping.

Freddy grooms Victor

Freddy grooms Victor.

Victor and Freddy

After Victor lost his mother at the age of 2 ½ years,
he was adopted by Freddy, an adult male
of the group.

Freddy carries Victor on his back

Freddy carries Victor on his back.

Videoclips: Chimpanzees of the Taï National Park in Côte d`Ivoire

For professional press use (high resolution photos and videoclips) please contact:
Claudia Nebel (E-Mail: nebelateva.mpg.de, phone: +49 (0) 341-3550 200)

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February 13, 2007: The Chimpanzee Stone Age

Researchers have found evidence that chimpanzees from West Africa were cracking nuts with stone tools before the advent of agriculture, thousands of years ago. The result suggests chimpanzees developed this behaviour on their own, or even that stone tool use was a trait inherited from our common ancestor. Julio Mercader, Christophe Boesch and colleagues found the stones at the Noulo site in Côte d’Ivoire, the only known prehistoric chimpanzee settlement.

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For professional press use (high resolution photos and videoclips) please contact:
Claudia Nebel (E-Mail: nebelateva.mpg.de, phone: +49 (0) 341-3550 200)

Original work:

Mercader, Julio, Huw Barton, Jason Gillespie, Jack Harris, Steven Kuhn, Robert Tyler, and Christophe Boesch
4300-year-old chimpanzee sites and the origins of percussive stone technology.
PNAS, February 2007

Photos: Chimpanzees of the Taï National Park in Côte d`Ivoire

Chris-excavate-3.jpg: Christophe Boesch holding a freshly excavated stone from the Noulo site	Julio-excavate-2.jpg: Julio Mercader excavating a stone from a stone-rich horizon
Julio-Noulo5.jpg: Julio Mercader excavating a stone from a stone-rich horizon	Julio-Noulo.jpg: A large view of the Noulo excavation site at the Taï National Park/Côte d´Ivoire
Marteau-use.jpg: A typical stone hammer used by chimpanzees in the Taï forest to crack Panda nuts showing a deep wear	Zyon1.jpg: Zyon, adult male, about to crack Panda nuts with a 5-kilogram heavy granit stone
Zyon2.jpg: Zyon, adult male, eating the almonds of the Panda nut he just cracked open	Zyon3.jpg: A juvenile chimpanzee looks as Zyon cracking and eating the nuts
Zyon4.jpg: A juvenile chimpanzee takes nut remains from Zyons anvil while Zyon is eating	Zyon5.jpg: The juvenile chimpanzee and Zyon are eating from the nuts that were opend by Zyon.

Videoclips: Nutcracking behaviour of Chimpanzees of the Taï National Park in Côte d`Ivoire

For professional press use (high resolution photos and videoclips) please contact:
Claudia Nebel (E-Mail: nebelateva.mpg.de, phone: +49 (0) 341-3550 200)

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