Evidence of cognitive function in gorillas

[HiThere]

"Staff at the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund’s Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda recently witnessed two 4-year-olds and a teenage mountain gorilla work together to destroy the types of snares that have killed at least two young gorillas this year. It was also the first time staff members have been able to see up close exactly how gorillas dismantle the snares.

“We knew that gorillas do this, but all of the reported cases in the past were carried out by adult gorillas, mostly silverbacks,” said gorilla program coordinator Veronica Vecellio. “How they did it demonstrated an impressive cognitive skill.”

_http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/07/gorillas-seen-dismantling-deadly-poacher-traps/

 

[mcb]

Interesting. I would also like to see more about what larger acquatic mammals can do.

 

[Nienna]

A very similar article was carried on Sott recently.

 

[HiThere]

A very similar article was carried on Sott recently.

I missed that one.

 

[mcb]

Hmmm. Genes from unknown species found in hunter-gatherers. I wish we knew more. Maybe the gorillas picked up a few extra genes from somewhere too?

_http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/07/genetic-code-reveals-hunter-gath.html?ref=hp&utm_source=buffer&buffer_share=139f8

 

[HiThere]

Hmmm. Genes from unknown species found in hunter-gatherers. I wish we knew more. Maybe the gorillas picked up a few extra genes from somewhere too?

_http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/07/genetic-code-reveals-hunter-gath.html?ref=hp&utm_source=buffer&buffer_share=139f8

There is a related article in WP:

"The human family tree just got another — mysterious — branch, an African “sister species” to the heavy-browed Neanderthals that once roamed Europe.

While no fossilized bones have been found from these enigmatic people, they did leave a calling card in present-day Africans: snippets of foreign DNA."

_http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/early-africans-mated-with-mystery-species-of-humans/2012/07/26/gJQAxFzZBX_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost