Brainy chimpanzees

Much that we know about intelligence results from studying the behaviour of chimpanzees. Whilst they are playing, young chimps learn about the world around them and unconsciously store away facts which may come in useful   later. For example if they have the chance to play with sticks they will learn that a stick can be used to help them reach father. This information may be used for a long time but is stored in the brain until needed.

Later if a chimpanzee is shown some food beyond bars of its cage which it cannot reach it will immediately use a stick to drag the food towards it. Similarly chimpanzees which are allowed to play with boxes soon learn that by standing on a box they become taller. Later they can put this knowledge to good use, and will even pile up several boxes to make a plat forming tricks like this at a zoo.

Image via Wikipedia

Orang-utans are rarer and have not been studied as much as chimpanzee but they probably are just as intelligent although they are less excitable and usually move more slowly. The intelligence of gorillas has hardly been studied. Young gorillas successfully kept in captivity studies on this kind can be made on young animals only, for most adult primates are bad-tempered and often savage.  Gorillas how ever are probably at least as intelligent as chimpanzees. They should for the have larger brains, although the brain of gorilla is half the size of man.