Check out this interesting New York Times article, which describes unusual behavior in Barbary macaque males. They use infants -- their own and others -- to facilitate bonding with other males, toting infants as status symbols. Dr.

A new study shows that male chimpanzee groups move into the territory of other chimpanzee groups to attack them and ultimately take over the territory or mates. But the scientists who conducted the study say they are reluctant to draw comparisons to human warfare. Instead, they are emphasizing the individual cooperation involved.

The Guardian quotes scientist John Mitani, a primate behavioral ecologist at the University of Michigan:

National Geographic posted this video of a chimp baby in Tanzania doing what "kids" do best -- playing!

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

You may have read about the "mark test" or "mirror test." It's a way scientists study self-awareness or self-recognition. They surreptitiously put a colored dot or other mark on a subject -- often somewhere on the face. If, while looking in a mirror, subjects touch their marks or adjust their position to see them better, it's clear they understand they're looking at an image of themselves, rather than at other beings. Species that have passed the mark test include all great apes, bottlenose dolphins and magpies.

A new study reports that great apes were wiped out in ancient Europe when climate and environmental changes replaced forests with grasslands. The change meant monkeys thrived but great apes did not. "Ancient relatives of modern orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees and gibbons were able to survive in Asia and Africa, where those changes were not as drastic," reports the BBC.

Japanese biologists have now begun to plant a corridor of trees across a savanna to try to connect one tiny isolated group of chimpanzees to a mountain range where thousands live.

Here's an interesting Planet Earth article about a study monitoring the impact of tourists and scientists on western lowland gorillas. Findings suggest it may be worthwile to increase the distance humans are required to keep from the gorillas, to keep the stress levels low and avoid possible aggression. The researchers note that there are other factors influencing the gorillas' behavior and that further study is needed.