The Underhill Journal

I haven't seen this film but this is a good clip.

Saw this on the BBC.


Orangutans use 'charades' to talk

Orangutans intentionally modified their gestures to get what they wanted
Orangutan communication resembles a game of charades, a study suggests.

Researchers from St Andrews University have shown that the animals intentionally modify or repeat their signals to get their messages across

As you may realise if you have read my blog before, I'm fascinated with the intelligence of our fellow creatures on this planet. Here once again we prove our own ignorance by not noticing how other creatures communicate, and then being surprised when we finally do. I would have thought that good communication would be an essential in any grouping creature, and particularly in those with a complex social structure like apes and dolphins.
On a side note, I remember visiting Amsterdam Zoo and being rather amused by the big male Orangutan (although I found it quite distressing to see the Orangutans and Chimpanzee's all cooped up for humans to gawk at) as he looked out of his cage and gave every passerby a very deliberate view of his upturned middle finger. You can say he was copying something someone had shown him (or several someone's given the amount of people who go through that Zoo), but I can tell you he meant every bit of it! I've got it on video footage, one day I'll dig it out and post the clip right here.
You can read the rest of the Orangutan story here.