Chimpanzee Movies

CritterCams are usually entertaining ventures for owners to know what their pets are up to. (I know I’m intrigued to use this to figure out where my stupid cat goes all day). But primatologist Betsy Herrelko is taking the concept into the professional domain by teaching chimpanzees to use hardened, chimp-proof video equipment and then allow them to carry it about in order to learn about their behaviors from the inside. She noted their behavior towards the equipment changed over time with their fascinations ranging from watching each other play with it to their selection of video feeds on a touchscreen. But eventually they began to carry the camera around and would periodically watch it’s own playback; Herrelko doubts they understood it was a replay of their world but hopes that getting the chimp’s eye view will bring new insights into their world. A compilation of the videos were aired on BBC’s Natural World program in late January.