Cricket-loving Monkeys seen ‘bowling’ rocks on the similar timber for greater than a decade
Scientists have reported that budding Simian Bothams often take part in a strange ‘bowling’ ritual which involves them hurling rocks at a tree like a cricket delivery
‘And here he is, coming in now from the Jungle end’(Image: Shutterstock / Danita Delimont)
Chimpanzees have been discovered playing cricket in a bizarre imitation of humans. Scientists have reported that budding Simian Bothams often take part in a strange ‘bowling’ ritual which involves them hurling rocks at a tree like a cricket delivery.
Boffins came across the bizarre behaviour – known as accumulative stone throwing – at the Boé National Park, Guinea-Bissau. While note quite running up and practicing their off-breaks, they were seen ‘bowling’ at a tree stump.
Video recordings show wild western chimpanzees, usually adult males, throwing rocks at specific trees and repeatedly returning to these trees to perform the behavior. While throwing, the chimpanzees pant a loud, long-distance communicative signal.
Ben Stokes might learn a thing or two (Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images)
And they even act as their own “Barmy Army” – the noisy band of fans that follow the England team everywhere – as they “sometimes repeatedly hit their hands and feet on the tree in a behavior called buttress drumming,” a study found.
The author of the study wrote: “Given our evolutionary relatedness to chimpanzees, we hope accumulative stone throwing can help us understand the emergence of complex communication and stone tool use over the course of human evolution.
“Pant hooting and buttress drumming are both part of the male chimpanzee display, suggesting that accumulative stone throwing might represent a modification of this common behavior.
Ben Stokes’ action may be more technically sound, but is his will to win more than that of a chimp?(Image: ECB via Getty Images)
” It is likely a cultural behavior due to its limited distribution, and because the availability of rocks and trees does not guarantee the presence of an accumulative stone throwing site.”
It’s not the first time apes have shown similarities to humans. Revolutionary new research that recently emerged indicated monkeys and apes are even more alike to humans than previously believed, with the furry creatures actually keeping other animals as companions.
Scientists at the University of Oxford discovered that non-human primates frequently engaged with lizards, deer, birds, squirrels and even dogs in remarkably similar ways to how humans treat their pets, including playing with and grooming their animal companions.
The charming pairings weren’t restricted to one species of monkey or ape, with 88 different primate species showing the delightful inclination to care for and play with a vast range of animals.
Cases included chimpanzees grooming red-tailed monkeys, playful macaques relishing the company of chickens, and even capuchins nurturing and tending to an abandoned marmoset for several months.
