A group of chimpanzees have been photographed seemingly grieving for the death of one of their own in Cameroon.

More than a dozen chimps stand in silence watching from behind their wire enclosure as Dorothy, a chimp in her late 40s who died of heart failure, is wheeled past them.

The chimps are from the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon. Locals from the village work as "care-givers" for the orphaned animals whose mothers were all killed for the illegal bushmeat trade.

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Gorilla dung could conceivably be the salvation of the planet.

A leading UK wildlife expert today said protecting the large primates he called the "gardeners of the forest" could provide the easy fix for global warming envisaged by international reforestation programmes.

America and other industrialised countries are looking to reforestation programmes in Africa, South-east Asia and South America to help contain the effects of climate change.

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A mountain gorilla in Parc Nacional des Volcans, Rwanda. Photograph: Andy Rouse/Corbis

Bonobos look like graceful versions of chimpanzees. They are entirely tree dwelling, don’t make tools and primitive war as chimpanzees do, or engage in hunting monkeys for meat.

“Bonobos have more style,” says Frans B. M. de Waal in a 1995 article in Scientific American, “Bonobo Sex and Society” They were one of the last large mammals to be discovered by science, and were at first thought to be juvenile chimps. However, though they belong to the same genus (Pan), they’re a distinct species (paniscus).

As much as chimpanzees, bonobos show the greatest capacity for self-awareness other than humans, being able to recognize themselves in mirrors and learn sign language.

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An animal rights group went ape this week when "Dancing with the Stars" wanted to use a chimpanzee as a guest judge.

The popular ABC show scratched plans to have the primate appear on Tuesday night's episode after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) complained to "Dancing" producers, reports Variety.com.

The primate protest was sparked on Monday, when "Dancing" host Tom Bergeron announced a chimp would be appearing on the show the following night.

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Every day, scientists add new pages to the story of human evolution by deciphering clues to our past in everything from the DNA in our genes to the bones and artifacts of thousands of our ancestors. But perhaps once each generation, a spectacular fossil reveals a whole chapter of our prehistory all at once. In 1974, it was the famous 3.2-million-year-old skeleton "Lucy," who proved in one stroke that our ancestors walked upright before they evolved big brains.

Ever since Lucy's discovery, researchers have wondered what came before her. Did the earliest members of the human family walk upright like Lucy or on their knuckles like chimpanzees and gorillas? Did they swing through the trees or venture into open grasslands? Researchers have had only partial, fleeting glimpses of Lucy's own ancestors—the earliest hominins, members of the group that includes humans and our ancestors (and are sometimes called hominids). Now, in a special section beginning on page 60 and online, a multidisciplinary international team presents the oldest known skeleton of a potential human ancestor, 4.4-million-year-old Ardipithecus ramidus from Aramis, Ethiopia.

Chimpanzees' Caring Behavior Toward Others Hints at the Emotion's Antiquity; the Mystery of the Contagious Yawn

A pioneer in primate studies, Frans de Waal sees our better side in chimps, especially our capacity for empathy. In his research, Dr. de Waal has gathered ample evidence that our ability to identify with another's distress -- a catalyst for compassion and charity -- has deep roots in the origin of our species. It is a view independently reinforced by recent biomedical studies showing that our brains are built to feel another's pain.

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An undercover investigation has found that up to two gorillas are killed and sold as bushmeat each week in Kouilou, a region of the Republic of Congo.

The apes' body parts are then taken downriver and passed on to traders who sell them in big-city markets.

Conducted by the conservation group Endangered Species International, the investigation helps expose the extent of gorilla poaching in the country. It fears hundreds more gorillas may be taken each year outside the region.

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A recent study documents the severe emotional trauma chimpanzees suffer as a result of laboratory use and confinement. Developmental Context Effects on Bicultural Post-Trauma Self Repair in Chimpanzees was published in the September issue, Vol. 45 (5), of the American Psychological Association journal Developmental Psychology.

Psychologists G.A. Bradshaw, Ph.D., Ph.D., Theodora Capaldo, Ed.D., Lorin Lindner, Ph.D., and Gloria Grow, Fauna sanctuary director, examined the case histories of three chimpanzees -- Billy Jo, Tom, and Regis -- all used in research before rescue into sanctuary. The study underscores the ethical implications of cross-fostering nonhuman primates and their use in research.

Computer animations stimulate contagious yawning in chimpanzees, according to a new study.

The research provides the world's first direct evidence that a non-human animal can empathize with an animated fictional depiction.

Since the compulsion to yawn after watching another individual yawn is not a conscious decision, the study suggests even non-living representations of humans and animals can affect the emotions and certain subsequent actions of humans and chimps at a subconscious level.

Prior research has found that children who play violent video games may act in a more violent manner later. In this case, however, the experiment just led to a lot of relaxed chimps.

Chimp infants are more in control of their emotions and behaviour than their human counterparts, research suggests. Baby chimpanzees have 16 'smile configurations' compared with 13 in baby humans.

A study found that, like human babies, newborn chimpanzees can laugh with joy or become fractious.

Professor Kim Bard, from the University of Portsmouth, said: "Chimps don't get colic, they don't get unconsolable crying, they only cry for a reason, and usually when you pick them up they don't fuss any more.

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Photo: PA

Humans are more closely related to orangutans than chimps or gorillas, claims a controversial new theory that flies in the face of accepted science.

According to scientists Jeffrey Schwartz and John Grehan, humans and orangutans may have evolved from populations of an orang-like ancestor, rather than the chimpanzee, which is the mainstream scientific opinion.

Their work is published in the Journal of Biogeography.

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Wild female swamp gorillas have been observed clapping their hands in a set routine that appears to hold meaning for other gorillas, according to a new study conducted at the Lac Tele Community Reserve in the Republic of Congo.

The study adds to the growing body of evidence that hand clapping originated with the common ancestor of humans and other primates. It also suggests hand clapping may often serve as a form of communication in great apes.

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Wild orangutans have invented a sound modification tool that makes a "kiss squeak" noise and fools listeners into thinking the individual is larger than he or she actually is, according to a new study.

The study, published in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B, presents the first evidence concerning how and why non-human primates alter their own calls using tools and even their own hands.

In this case, the researchers describe the kiss squeak call as a sharp intake of air through pursed lips. Hardly a love call, the noise is produced by orangutans when predators startle them, or they are otherwise disturbed.

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A chimp's attention is captured by faces more effectively than by bananas. A series of experiments suggests that the apes are wired to respond to faces in a similar manner to humans.

Masaki Tomonaga and Tomoko Imura from the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University, Japan, tested the effects of a series of different images on chimps' reaction times.

Tomonaga said, "It is well known that faces are processed in a different manner from other types of complex visual stimuli. Recent studies of face perception in humans clarified that faces represent special stimuli with regard to visuospatial attention as well. That is, they are able to capture our attention. We've shown that chimps share this tendency to notice and pay attention to faces in preference to other objects."

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BHP Billiton has warned it can no longer guarantee the safety of dozens of animals that had been scheduled to be released into the forests it owns this month.

The company has not explained why it is withdrawing from the area, saying only it had made the decision for "strategic reasons".

BHP had supported the programme to release endangered orang-utans for two years.

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Hefty orangutans wield their up to 180-pound bodies on flimsy treetop branches using special acrobatic maneuvers, according to a new study that could have implications for habitat conservation and reintroduction of the endangered species.

The findings, published in the latest Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, come at a critical time, since Sumatran orangutans are now on the verge of becoming the first great ape to go extinct in modern history.

At first, the researchers were astounded watching the circus star-like movements of wild Sumatran orangutans in the Gunung Leuser Ecosystem, which comprises pristine rainforest in Sumatra.

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Dear EarthTalk:

Has the recent violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo threatened the populations of lowland gorillas? How many are left?
-- Glenn Hammond, San Francisco, CA

The short answer is yes, dramatically. Not to be confused with Western Lowland Gorillas, which are thriving in significant numbers in neighboring Congo (a recent census counted 125,000), today fewer than 5,000 Eastern Lowland Gorillas are estimated to remain in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly known as Zaire. Some 17,000 inhabited the region as recently as 1994, but today habitat loss, hunting, and war and violence are combining to push them over the edge.

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Large areas of pristine mountain gorilla habitat are threatened by a series of wildfires which have raged for three days along the Rwanda-Uganda border.

Fire-fighting teams to the mountainous area, in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park and Uganda's Mgahinga National Park, to cut fire-breaks and try to preserve the gorillas' territory.

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An investigation is under way into how 30 chimpanzees escaped their enclosure at Chester Zoo, forcing its evacuation. The primates found their way into a nearby keepers' area, where their food is usually prepared, on Sunday afternoon, the zoo said.

Although the area is secure, about 5,000 visitors were asked to leave the zoo site as a security measure. Zoo director general Gordon McGregor-Reid has apologised for the inconvenience to visitors.

The animal alert went out at 1240 BST after the chimpanzees were discovered in the kitchen area, Chester Zoo said. How the animals came to leave their quarters is not known but they were not in an area accessed by the public. The Zoo's blacksmith was visiting the area on Monday to examine the door latches.

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Lounging on his back with the breeze ruffling his hair, Marty the chimpanzee is scratching his belly as he watches for the golf cart that delivers bananas at around this time every day.

From his shady lair he can gaze at the blue sky and open fields that stretch for miles around. But his Utopian existence and relaxed demeanour speak nothing of the horrors he endured in the five decades before he was granted peace at the Save the Chimps sanctuary in Fort Pierce, Florida.

One of dozens of infant chimpanzees seized in Africa for the US Air Force in the 1950s, he was recruited into the military’s air and space research programme, which helped to pave the way for America’s first manned spaceflight in 1961 and, ultimately, the Apollo 11 Moon landing 40 years ago this month.

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Copycat chimps build their own tools after watching video demonstrations.

During a study, the animals were shown footage of a trained chimp combining two components to construct a tool that enabled it to reach a food reward.

When given the same two components, the chimps made their own tools and used them to drag over a tasty treat.

Reporting in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B, scientists say this demonstrates what a "potent effect" social learning has in the primates.

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THESE days, we tend to accept without question that humans are "the third chimpanzee". The term, coined by author Jared Diamond, refers to the notion that our closest relatives are the two chimpanzee species - the common chimp and the bonobo. But could we actually be "the second orang" - more closely related to orang-utans than chimps?

[...]

The idea flies in the face of mainstream scientific opinion, not least a wealth of DNA evidence pointing to our close relationship to chimps. Schwartz and Grehan do not deny the similarity between human and chimp genomes, but argue that the DNA evidence is problematic and that traditional taxonomy unequivocally tells us that our closest living relatives are orang-utans.

On June 14 and 28, for the first time ever, a group of 18 orphan bonobos will be returned to the wild. "We'll be monitoring the social behavior and feeding habits of the bonobos as they adjust to life back in the wild," said Duke anthropologist Brian Hare, who will be leading the monitoring with Richard Wrangham of Harvard.

"We are curious to see how they adjust to their new lifestyle because it will give us valuable information about how flexible they are behaviorally since none of them grew up in the wild," Hare said. "Of course we will also be closely monitoring their health so that we can intervene if any bonobos have problems adjusting."

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The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced yesterday the discovery of eastern lowland gorilla nests in an unexplored area of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), expanding the range of this little-known subspecies by 30 miles (50 kilometers).

The eastern lowland gorilla, also known as Grauer’s gorilla, is currently listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List. Scientists estimate that the gorilla has as few as 8,000 individual left. Although closely related to mountain gorillas, the eastern lowland gorilla is the world’s largest living primate, weighing over 500 pounds at maximum, and is endemic to the DRC.

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According to the laws of nature, apes and water don't mix. But no one seems to have told these orangutans.

Splashing gleefully in a muddy river, they have obviously overcome their natural fear of getting wet. And their deeply-held suspicion that crocodiles are lurking somewhere in the water. Instead, they dived in at the deep end, paddled back and forth from the shore and swung into the water from overhanging branches. In fact, they did everything practised pool goers would, apart from perhaps bagging the best loungers at the side.

Wildlife experts were astonished to see the orangutans' aquatic display in a river on Borneo.

Chimpanzees remember the exact location of all their favourite fruit trees.

Their spatial memory is so precise that they can find a single tree among more than 12,000 others within a patch of forest, primatologists have found.

More than that, the chimps also recall how productive each tree is, and decide to travel farther to eat from those they know will yield the most fruit.

Acquiring such an ability might have helped drive the evolution of sophisticated primate brains.

Emmanuelle Normand and Christophe Boesch of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany teamed up with Simone Ban of the University of Cocody in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, to investigate the spatial memory of chimpanzees in the wild.

By tickling young gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans, researchers say they learned that all great apes laugh. Their findings suggest we inherited our own ability to laugh from the last common ancestor from which humans and great apes evolved, which lived 10 to 16 million years ago.

Primatologist and psychologist Marina Davila Ross of the U.K.'s University of Portsmouth led a team that tickled the necks, feet, palms, and armpits of infant and juvenile apes as well as human babies. The team recorded more than 800 of the resulting giggles and guffaws.

It’s 33C and I can feel droplets wiggling down my back in the muggy heat. Mud is squelching through the broken soles of my old trainers. I’ve just extricated a big green fly that’s flown into my mouth. And on the table in front of me, at Brazzaville’s main food market, I see a dead monkey. It is whole: its fluffy fur and long tail still attached to its tiny body, its ribs cleaned of innards and its face contorted into a hideous grimace. “Très bon, très delicieuse,” the woman behind the table says, urging me to taste a sample she’s sliced from one she’d prepared earlier. “Fume, fume…”

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Orangutans in public and private Indonesian zoos are being abused to the point where they are eating their own vomit and drinking their own urine, according to conservationists.

The non-governmental Centre for Orangutan Protection (COP) said zookeepers were keeping the endangered apes malnourished so they would be eager to take food from visitors.

"The zoo managements have abandoned the principles of animal welfare," which is to keep animals free of pain, hunger and stress, COP captivity researcher Luki Wardhani told a press conference.

On Thursday a long term LAGA investigation resulted in the successful arrest of an Italian director of a logging company for illegal detention of three chimps and other illegal wildlife trophies. Relentlessly fighting corruption, we insured the foreign national getts behind bars, we monitor the prison cell every few hours, to secure justice is served rather than bought out.

Early this year the director of the logging company was identified as a major client of protected species ordering chimps antelopes and other illegal trophies. For sometime we have observed his activities. I do not know if he exports the animals.

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Russ Cochran fondly recalls the fun he had with his chimpanzee when the animal was younger, taking him for rides in the car and to his cabin on the river. Boaters would stop to see Sammy, who would jump in canoes and help himself to food and drinks from the cooler.

"That would be the price of admission for him," Cochran says. "He would drink beer if you let him. He liked beer."

Now Sammy is a powerful 19-year-old with strength many times that of a human. He recently got into a vicious fight with Cochran's younger chimp, Buckwheat. That fight and news accounts of a savage chimpanzee attack in Connecticut that nearly killed a woman this year convinced Cochran — Buckwheat had to go.