Photo: DPAOrangutans, chimpanzees and bonobos are the nearest relatives of humans in the primate world, and like us, they can tell when a person is wrong in their beliefs, researchers said Wednesday. Great apes were also willing to help a person who was mistaken about the location of an object, according to the study in the journal PLOS ONE. A total of 34 great apes - chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans - took part in the research at the Leipzig Zoo in Germany. Until now, researchers believed great apes did not have this capacity to understand the intent of people, or to “read minds," so to speak. "If supported by further research, the apparent difference between great ape and human social cognition would thus lie not in their basic capacity to 'read' other minds, but elsewhere."

Source: The Local April 06, 2017 07:30 UTC