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Bonobo Kanzi Shows Apes Can Pretend — Level A1 — A chimpan sitting on the ground looking at the camera

Bonobo Kanzi Shows Apes Can PretendCEFR A1

13 Feb 2026

Adapted from Johns Hopkins University, Futurity CC BY 4.0

Photo by Omar Ramadan, Unsplash

Level A1 – Beginner
2 min
72 words
  • A bonobo can play pretend and imagine things sometimes.
  • Scientists studied a friendly bonobo in careful tests recently.
  • They used clear cups and a pretend pitcher together.
  • The bonobo often pointed to the pretend cup first.
  • He chose real juice when asked for drink carefully.
  • He showed he knew pretend objects were not real.
  • Researchers saw the bonobo imagine grapes inside jars too.
  • The team will test other animals in future studies.

Difficult words

  • pretendact like something is real when it is not
  • imaginemake a picture in your mind
  • scientistperson who studies nature or animals
    Scientists
  • carefuldoing something with attention and care
  • choosepick one thing from two or more
    chose
  • objecta thing you can see or touch
    objects
  • jara round glass container for food
    jars

Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.

Discussion questions

  • Do you like to play pretend?
  • Have you ever pretended an object was real?
  • Have you seen an animal act like this?

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