Female bonobo crowned "cleverest monkey in the world"

Antwerp, Belgium (NTN24) - The competition included six games that had to be undertaken in a limited timeframe; time the chimpanzees wasted with alpha male in-fighting, while the matriarchal competitors muddled through. Female monkey at Antwerp zoo shows that girl power triumphs.

Matriarchal monkeys showed alpha apes who has the most intelligence after the females won a competition for "cleverest monkey" organised by Antwerp zoo on Tuesday (August 9).

Bonobo apes, a primate unique to Congo and humankind's closest relative, are more commonly known as pygmy chimpanzees, they 98.4 per cent of their genetic make-up with humans.

The bonobos, who live in matriarchies and frequently use sex to resolve social conflicts, beat the group of chimpanzees 4-2 in intelligence tests because, according to judges, the chimps were too tied in up fighting for dominance within their group.

The competition included six games, or tests, that had to be undertaken in a limited timeframe - time the chimpanzees wasted with alpha male in-fighting, while the matriarchal competitors muddled through.

At the beginning of the competition, two young chimps decided to challenge old veteran Arnold's authority, leaving the chimpanzee group in turmoil. Meanwhile, female bonobo Djanoa showed persistence and motivation and ended up winning the competition.

"Now Djanoa comes out as 'the most intelligent ape of the world' as we named the competition. I would rather call her the most persistent ape of the world. I think most of the bonobos and chimpanzees understand the puzzles so they are all just as intelligent, they know what they have to do, they know they have to push a stick, but not anyone is motivated so Djanoa has shown that she is very motivated to do these games and she is very persistent," behavioural biologist and bonobo specialist Jeroen Stevens (pronounce Jeroon Stevenss) said.

Djanoa's victory came as a surprise for Stevens and his colleagues at the zoo. They expected the tool-wielding chimps to win.

"When we started the competition I really thought that the chimpanzees would emerge as the great stars, that they would really show themselves as the tool users. We know they use tools in the wild in Africa and bonobos in Africa don't use tools. So at the start really I was convinced that the chimpanzee would win. But then as the competition progressed it was very clear that one individual bonobo, Djanoa, and she is sitting there behind me, that she played all the puzzle boxes that we presented very, very well and that chimps quickly lost their attention," Stevens said.

Stevens compared the chimps to babies who like new toys but get bored quickly and lose attention, whereas the female bonobo however had some qualities to win, he said.

In bonobos matriarchal society, females lead the group whereas males are leading chimpanzees' group. And research shows that female apes are better tool users.

For Stevens, the competition opened the way into further research into monkeys' behaviours. He wants to find out if monkeys, like human beings, have personalities.

"What we found is that one ape is very intelligent, another may be less intelligent, there are very big differences. Differences that we can even name personalities, and that's the kind of studies we are doing now. We are seeing how consistent are behavioural differences between chimps and between bonobos -- and can you name that a personality as you would in humans," Stevens said.

Until he has proven that scientifically, Stevens said he can't be sure of anything.

"The question now is 'is Djanoa really an Einstein in the bonobo world or are there other things that play. May be she is just very keen on getting walnuts? May be she is just very motivated and not very intelligent?"

The brain test is part of a campaign by the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp in Belgium to raise cash to tackle the problem of bonobos being captured in the wild and sold as bushmeat.

Bushmeat, which also includes meat from gorillas and chimpanzees, is considered a delicacy in parts of Africa.

Stevens said there are about 35,000 bonobos left on the central Congo basin, and that Bushmeat consumption could lead to their extinction.