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Screech! Bang! It's the sound we all dread when crossing busy roads. Now, it turns out that like us, wild chimpanzees learn to respect roads, adopting the same cautious drills as humans, including looking both ways to check for traffic.
Hopefully, by studying how chimpanzees cope with roads, we can find ways to make them safer for wildlife, especially since road-building in Africa is on the increase.
In a 29-month survey, researchers observed and recorded 20 instances of wild chimps crossing a busy road in Sebitoli, in the northern part of Uganda's Kibale National Park. They watched 122 chimps cross the highway used by 90 vehicles an hour, many speeding at 70 to 100 kilometres an hour.
It's the first report on how chimpanzees behave crossing a very busy asphalt road, says Marie Cibot of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. "We've described chimpanzee behaviour facing a dangerous situation never described before," she says, pointing out that earlier studies looked at narrower, unpaved and less busy roads.
Read more here. (News Scientists)
Hopefully, by studying how chimpanzees cope with roads, we can find ways to make them safer for wildlife, especially since road-building in Africa is on the increase.
In a 29-month survey, researchers observed and recorded 20 instances of wild chimps crossing a busy road in Sebitoli, in the northern part of Uganda's Kibale National Park. They watched 122 chimps cross the highway used by 90 vehicles an hour, many speeding at 70 to 100 kilometres an hour.
It's the first report on how chimpanzees behave crossing a very busy asphalt road, says Marie Cibot of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. "We've described chimpanzee behaviour facing a dangerous situation never described before," she says, pointing out that earlier studies looked at narrower, unpaved and less busy roads.
Read more here. (News Scientists)
