An international team of researchers analyzed
video from remote camera-trap devices placed in ape-populated forests
throughout Africa to see how wild apes would react to these unfamiliar
objects. Responses varied by species, and even among individuals within
the same species, but one thing was consistent throughout: the apes
definitely noticed the cameras.
Researchers analyzed video from remote camera-trap devices placed in
ape-populated forests throughout Africa to see how wild apes would react
to these unfamiliar objects. Responses varied by species and even among
individuals within the same species, but one thing was consistent
throughout: the apes definitely noticed the cameras -- they poked them,
stared at them, and occasionally tried to bite them.
The study appears March 14 in the journal Current Biology.
An international team of researchers from the
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany,
analyzed video from remote camera-trap devices placed in ape-populated
forests throughout Africa to see how wild apes would react to these
unfamiliar objects. Responses varied by species, and even among
individuals within the same species, but one thing was consistent
throughout: the apes definitely noticed the cameras.
"Our goal was to see how chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas react to
unfamiliar objects in the wild since novel object experiments are often
used in comparative psychology research, and we wanted to know if there
were any differences among the three great apes," says Ammie Kalan, a
primatologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
"We were specifically surprised by the differences in reactions we
observed between the chimps and bonobos. Since they're sister species
and share a lot of the same genetic makeup, we expected them to react
similarly to the camera, but this wasn't the case."
"The chimpanzees were overall uninterested in the camera traps --
they barely seemed to notice their presence and were generally
unbothered by them," Kalan says. "Yet the bonobos appeared to be much
more troubled by camera traps; they were hesitant to approach and would
actively keep their distance from them." The 2019 study by Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, published in the March 14 issue of the journal "Current Biology", showed that responses to the object varied by species and even among individuals within the same species. However, one thing was consistent throughout: the apes definitely noticed the cameras, while some were documented avoiding the cameras. The only ones they were able to document were those that tapped the cameras from behind. There of course would not be any documentation for those that actually went out of their way to avoid the cameras.
Individuals within a species reacted differently to the cameras as
well. For example, apes living in areas with more human activity, such
as near research sites, can get desensitized to unfamiliar items and
become indifferent toward such encounters in the future. However,
another member of the same species who has had less exposure to strange
or new items, might be more interested in them. The age of the ape plays
a similar role. "Younger apes would explore the camera traps more by
staring at them for longer periods of time," Kalan says. "Like human
children, they need to take in more information and learn about their
environment. Being curious is one way of doing that."
The range of responses shown by the apes, and the complex differences
both between species and within a single species, demonstrates a need
for scientists to consider how animals will respond to the presence of
unfamiliar monitoring equipment in their natural habitats. "The within
and between species variation in behavior towards the unfamiliar items
might be problematic when trying to collect accurate monitoring data,"
Kalan says. "To curb this effect, it would be worth having a
familiarization period, where the wild animals can get used to the new
items."
Despite this potential complication, using camera traps to monitor
populations of animals in the wild is still one of the most useful
options. "Our knowledge tends to be limited by the number of groups or
number of populations we're able to study, but using monitoring
technology like camera traps is an effective way of solving that
problem," Kalan says. "I think it's really interesting from a behavioral
flexibility perspective to consider how wild animals react to these new
technologies. I would love for more researchers to investigate novelty
responses while doing monitoring surveys."
Here’s What Happened When Scientists Left Camera Traps to Record Wild Apes
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A group of chimpanzees in Uganda. Scientists found that chimps were
overall uninterested in camera traps and barely seemed to notice their
presence. Bonobos, however, appeared to be much more troubled by camera
traps. (Photo Credit: DEA / G. COZZI / Getty Images)
|
How do wild apes react to unfamiliar objects, such as
monitoring equipment, in their natural habitats? To find out, scientists
deployed remote camera-trap devices in ape-populated forests throughout
Africa.
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