Enterprising zookeepers in the Czech Republic have figured out a way to entertain their chimpanzees, who were missing out on social-intellectual stimulation once the pandemic cut off the flow of human zoo visitors: Let them watch other chimps. The smart, social apes in Safari Park Dvur Kralove now watch smart, social apes at a zoo in Brno, some 90 miles away, on large TV screens. Though the animals originally approached the screen with "defensive or threatening gestures," according to ape keeper Gabriela Linhartova at Dvur Kralove, they now basically watch their fellow chimps like sports.
Here's Reuters:
“It has since moved into the mode of ‘I am in the movies’ or ‘I am watching TV’. When they see some tense situations, it gets them up off the couch, like us when we watch a live sport event.”
This also describes the authors' behavior when Knicks-Kings is on at a bar.
The chimpanzees have also adopted other human behaviours such as grabbing goodies like nuts to chew on while watching the action.
Reuters
Yeah, same.
