The Church of Chimp?

It’s no secret that great apes demonstrate human-like behaviors. We know they use tools. We know they can recognize themselves in mirrors. They’ve even exhibited the capacity for more complex traits like cooperation. These behaviors all have clear evolutionary advantages, providing apes with greater opportunity to eat, thrive and reproduce. Yet, at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania, there’s speculative evidence that chimpanzees are capable of thought that goes far beyond the mortal coil. In this video, no less an authority than Jane Goodall muses on a strange behavior that raises a thought-provoking question: can our closest living relatives experience the sublime?    

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As the revered Ms. Goodall says, chimps cannot articulate or analyze what they experience. In other words, whatever they feel internally, these unusual chimps probably cannot comprehend the sublime. Then again…can humans?

Watch the vid, and see what you can see. Then, let us know what you make of this odd behavior in the comment section! Have you ever seen an animal acting in a surprisingly human way? We’d love to hear about that, too.