Bonobo Kanzi Shows Apes Can Pretend ^{CEFR B1}

Researchers report in Science that apes can imagine things and play pretend. The finding comes from three controlled experiments with Kanzi, a 43-year-old enculturated bonobo at Ape Initiative who has been reported to engage in pretense and can follow verbal prompts by pointing.

The first experiment placed two transparent cups and an empty transparent pitcher on a table. The experimenter pretended to pour juice into both cups, then pretended to empty one cup and asked, "Where's the juice?" Kanzi pointed to the cup that still contained pretend juice most of the time, even when the filled cup changed place. In a second test a real cup of juice was shown beside a pretend cup; when asked what he wanted, Kanzi pointed to the real juice almost every time. A third test used grapes and jars; Kanzi again indicated the pretend object.

Researchers say Kanzi was not perfect but was consistently correct. They plan to test other apes and animals and to explore other aspects of imagination, such as future thinking and understanding others' minds.