Chimpanzees Can Develop Their Own Fashion Trends
LatestThis summer’s hottest accessory is a single piece of grass shoved into your ear canal at a jaunty and carefree angle. Ok, fine, this is only a trend among a specific troop of chimpanzees in Zambia, but it could catch on. You never know. I mean, if wedge sneakers can become a thing, anything is possible.
A new study from the scientific journal Animal Cognition finds that chimpanzees are capable of creating and adopting fads — in this case, “grass-in-ear behaviour,” which is all the rage in one chimp group at the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust, a sanctuary in Zambia. Grass-in-ear was invented in 2010 by a chimp named Julie, who is essentially the Coco Chanel of chimps (“Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury” – Julie, 2010, while placing a long blade of grass into her ear).