"No longer can we assume that an individual ape's social landscape is entirely occupied by members of their own species," co-author Jake Funkhouser, a PhD candidate of biological anthropology at Washington University, said in the news release. The research makes a case for what can be learned over long-term study and for conservation efforts that protect the habitats where these gorillas and chimpanzees interact. Twenty years ago, an Ebola outbreak killed thousands of gorillas in central Africa. There is some risk from these social interactions, though: namely, disease transmission. "Interspecific aggression was bidirectional and most frequently consisted of threats," the study notes – but it never rose to the level of lethal aggression that has occurred between chimps and gorillas in Gabon. Not every interaction was warm and friendly. Instead, better foraging seemed to be a key upside for both species – sometimes eating at the same tree, sometimes dining nearby on different foods. Gorillas are seen here at Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2013. But the apes' behavior didn't show that to be a major factor in their interactions. Researchers had theorized that associations between the species could perhaps be to avoid predators such as leopards or snakes. They even saw chimpanzees beating their chests – a behavior associated with gorillas. And when bands of the two species encountered each other, researchers saw gorillas and chimps scan the others and then approach the ones they knew. They witnessed young individuals of both species playing and wrestling with each other – interactions that can foster their development. ![]() Over that 20-year period, researchers saw gorillas follow the sound of chimps to a canopy full of ripe figs, and then co-feed at the same tree. That finding is from a new paper in the journal iScience that analyzes social interactions between the primate species over two decades at the Nouabalé-Ndoki Park in the Republic of Congo. Perhaps the real law of the jungle is that it's good to have friends - especially those who know where to find the the free food.Ĭase in point: It turns out chimpanzees and gorillas can be pals, evidently with advantages for all. Here, a group of chimps is seen in February at the Lwiro Primate Rehabilitation Center in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Chimpanzees and gorillas sometimes eat from the same trees at the same time.
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