Apes | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/apes/RSS feed for ApesenMon, 27 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000Chimpanzees and Bonobos Use Hugs, Kisses and Friendly Pats to Keep the Peace, Just Like Humans, a New Study Suggestshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chimpanzees-and-bonobos-use-hugs-kisses-and-pats-to-keep-the-peace-just-like-humans-a-new-study-suggests-180989192/Since all three ape species diverged from a common ancestor that lived roughly six million to eight million years ago, the findings hint that friendly touching to diffuse tension has deep evolutionary originsMon, 27 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chimpanzees-and-bonobos-use-hugs-kisses-and-pats-to-keep-the-peace-just-like-humans-a-new-study-suggests-180989192/Humans and Great Apes Giggle With a Similar Rhythm and Timing, Suggesting We Have Shared Our Style of Laughter for 15 Million Yearshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/humans-and-great-apes-giggle-with-a-similar-rhythm-and-timing-suggesting-we-have-shared-our-style-of-laughter-for-15-million-years-180989031/Understanding how laughter evolved can reveal the secrets of human speechMon, 29 Jun 2026 18:30:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/humans-and-great-apes-giggle-with-a-similar-rhythm-and-timing-suggesting-we-have-shared-our-style-of-laughter-for-15-million-years-180989031/Did Human Ancestors Walk on Their Knuckles Like Today's Chimpanzees? New Research Adds More Evidence to the Debatehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-human-ancestors-walk-on-their-knuckles-like-todays-chimpanzees-new-research-adds-more-evidence-to-the-debate-180988876/After investigating thousands of wrist bones, scientists suspect the last common ancestor species of humans and chimpanzees may have navigated the world on its knucklesTue, 02 Jun 2026 15:36:17 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-human-ancestors-walk-on-their-knuckles-like-todays-chimpanzees-new-research-adds-more-evidence-to-the-debate-180988876/Why Is Nearly Every Person Right-Handed—but Not Every Ape and Monkey? New Research Explores the Evolutionary Origins of Human Handednesshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-is-nearly-every-person-right-handed-but-not-every-ape-and-monkey-new-research-explores-the-evolutionary-origins-of-human-handedness-180988776/Brain size and bipedalism are the most likely drivers of our species’ right-hand dominance, according to new researchThu, 21 May 2026 16:28:25 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-is-nearly-every-person-right-handed-but-not-every-ape-and-monkey-new-research-explores-the-evolutionary-origins-of-human-handedness-180988776/Watch the First Known Video of a Sumatran Orangutan Crossing a Human-Made Wildlife Bridge in the Treetopshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/watch-the-first-known-video-of-a-sumatran-orangutan-crossing-a-human-made-wildlife-bridge-in-the-treetops-180988637/A public road in Indonesia separates forests housing about 350 wild orangutans, among other animals. So, conservationists built several canopy bridges to prevent habitat fragmentationWed, 29 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/watch-the-first-known-video-of-a-sumatran-orangutan-crossing-a-human-made-wildlife-bridge-in-the-treetops-180988637/These Wild Chimps Have Been Fighting in a 'Civil War' for Nearly a Decade. It's the Bloodiest Split Ever Seen Among Their Kindhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-wild-chimps-have-been-fighting-in-a-civil-war-for-nearly-a-decade-its-the-bloodiest-split-ever-seen-among-their-kind-180988527/The Ngogo chimpanzees in Uganda have divided themselves into two main factions, and dozens of deaths have been recorded since the split in 2018. A new study details the unprecedented violence, which could shed light on the evolutionary underpinnings of human warfareFri, 10 Apr 2026 20:12:47 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-wild-chimps-have-been-fighting-in-a-civil-war-for-nearly-a-decade-its-the-bloodiest-split-ever-seen-among-their-kind-180988527/These 17-Million-Year-Old Fossils Could Rewrite the Evolutionary Tree of Apes—Including Humanshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-17-million-year-old-fossils-could-rewrite-the-evolutionary-tree-of-apes-including-humans-180988446/Jawbone fragments and teeth from a previously unknown species hint that the evolution of modern apes occurred in what's now North Africa or the Arabian Peninsula, rather than in East AfricaMon, 30 Mar 2026 16:08:23 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-17-million-year-old-fossils-could-rewrite-the-evolutionary-tree-of-apes-including-humans-180988446/Chimps Seem to Love Crystals. Their Attraction Might Help Explain Humans' Obsession With the Shimmering Stoneshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chimps-seem-to-love-crystals-their-attraction-might-help-explain-humans-obsession-with-the-shimmering-stones-180988303/Hominins have been collecting calcite and quartz for at least 780,000 years. A new study hints at whyFri, 06 Mar 2026 15:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chimps-seem-to-love-crystals-their-attraction-might-help-explain-humans-obsession-with-the-shimmering-stones-180988303/Wild Chimpanzees Love to Eat Boozy Fruit. Scientists Say the Proof Is in Their Peehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/wild-chimpanzees-love-to-eat-boozy-fruit-scientists-say-the-proof-is-in-their-pee-180988264/The work further hints that humans may have inherited our penchant for alcohol from our ape ancestorsFri, 27 Feb 2026 17:05:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/wild-chimpanzees-love-to-eat-boozy-fruit-scientists-say-the-proof-is-in-their-pee-180988264/Can Apes Play Pretend? What Scientists Learned From Having Imaginary 'Tea Parties' With Kanzi the Bonobohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/can-bonobos-play-pretend-what-scientists-learned-from-having-imaginary-tea-parties-with-kanzi-the-bonobo-180988241/A new study provides evidence for imagination in a captive-raised, English language-trained animalMon, 23 Feb 2026 22:35:50 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/can-bonobos-play-pretend-what-scientists-learned-from-having-imaginary-tea-parties-with-kanzi-the-bonobo-180988241/