Chimpanzees make BBC documentary!

Chimpanzees of Budongo Trail

just a two of a few

Cindy

Born 1964 (estimated), Africa

The “cool granny” of the group and oldest female, Cindy is the mother of Lyndsey and grandmother of Kilimi, Kindia, and Liberius. She is great at solving puzzles and likes to interact with people, which is why she easily led the way in training for activities in The Chimpcam Project. Two of her favourite foods are leeks and spring onions. She can be easily spotted by her petite frame and the spikey hair on the top of her head.

David

Born 2 March 1975, Edinburgh Zoo

David is a strong adult male with a round, grey head, damaged left ear, and short limbs compared to the rest of the group. He was one of the dominant males a few years back and still commands respect from the others. When choosing to participate in research pod activities, we could always count on him to have a delicate touch when making selections at the test window by using one finger to press the screen instead of using his fist.





I knew they could do it. These chimpanzees have made their own film.
Airing on
Natural World: The Chimpcam Project
Broadcast dates:
- BBC2, 8pm on 27 January 2010
- Animal Planet (USA), date TBD

The research conducted for The Chimpcam Project is non-invasive, meaning that it does NOT cause pain or discomfort and allows the chimpanzees the choice to participate or not. In Budongo Trail, there are dedicated research areas in full public view where visitors can watch science in action!

For The Chimpcam Project, before giving the chimps a camcorder, the team wanted to help teach the chimps about the concept of video. This is where science came into play. To work towards this goal and to fulfill the requirements of a PhD project, the team designed a series of studies that would teach the chimps about the properties of video and allow us to learn from them in the process.