Chimpanzee Cultures Are Disappearing
In the animal kingdom, primates form an especially interesting group in which there are unique behaviors and cultural characteristics. Species such as chimpanzees, for example, have clear cultures, but a study is warning that they may disappear.
animal culture
There are many species of animals that are at risk of extinction, but we rarely analyze the other losses that accompany the disappearance of these species, such as their culture, for example.
It is a fact that animals have cultural traits: proof of this are the news about some monkeys that reached the Stone Age, the different dialects of the parrot species, and the hunting techniques of the orcas.
Certainly, the culture of most animals is very different from the human one, but in all of them there are behaviors unique to a given population that are passed from generation to generation.
This is also the basis of cultural behaviors shared by humans and the rest of the animal kingdom. However, the fact that animal farming is in danger of extinction is something few people think about.
That’s why this study published in the journal Nature is so important in pointing out a problem: the cultural heritage of other species is also at risk, along with the ecological benefits it brings us.
Many species could not exploit nature’s resources without their cultural behaviors, which influence the habitats that humans explore.
One study warns that chimpanzee cultures are disappearing
The team, led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute, carried out fieldwork in 46 locations and 15 countries, which allowed them to analyze 31 behaviors from 144 different communities, during more than nine years of research.
The fact that chimpanzees have cultures has been studied extensively, but how the impact of human activities affects these animals has not yet been analyzed.
Some parameters used to measure the degree of degradation due to human presence were the number of people living in the area, as well as the amount of infrastructure or forest elements.
Thus, the survey showed that more than 88% of chimpanzee cultural behaviors are being lost in areas with high human impact.
Thus, while chimpanzees more distant from human populations resist this cultural loss, like the curious chimpanzees of the Goualougo Triangle, for example, those who live in areas with larger human populations are not so lucky.
Consequences
Certainly, the fact that the species is disappearing has clear consequences for the decline of chimpanzee cultures: fewer specimens, less transmission of these incredible behaviors.
That is, both indirectly and directly, the human being is responsible for this cultural loss.
Therefore, researchers alert to the need not only to seek the preservation of animals as living beings with ecological functions, but also to preserve their behavior and behavior.
In fact, there are several agreements for the protection of nature that require the complete protection of biodiversity, including the behavior of these animals as well.
Creating areas to protect the cultural heritage of chimpanzees and other species could be a measure of great interest that has been increasingly demanded by the scientific community.
