In keeping with my recent meanderings of the mind regarding Sasquatch language and the potential intelligence of the clandestine hairy ones, this story caught my eye:
Karta, a 27-year-old chimpanzee currently residing in a zoo in Australia, decided recently that she wanted to try a change in scenery. Armed with a stick, the clever chimp jammed it into wires connected to an electric fence that surrounded her enclosure, then piled available debris next to it and proceeded to climb a concrete and glass wall.
Zookeepers called Karta’s actions “ingenious”, and said this wasn’t her first attempt at escaping or outsmarting her caretakers.
According to zoo curator Peter Whitehead, Karta reached the top of the fence, where she sat for half an hour before “apparently changing her mind” about escaping. She eventually climbed back into the enclosure.
Last year, chimpanzees on a secluded island were also noted in the media for being caught swimming for the first time; up until then, it was believed that chimpanzees couldn’t perform such aquatic maneuvers. Similarly, in recent years chimpanzees have been witnessed using sticks and other items as tools, allowing them to obtain food, or as in the case with Karta, short circuit an electric fence. Let us never underestimate the potential intelligence of our fuzzy friends…
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