大象传媒

Families have a new role: to provide emotional support. For mother and baby, nothing in the world is more important, or brings greater joy. Baby chimpanzees spend years learning about each other and their traditions. Families are the schools. In Central Africa, chimps crack nuts with rocks and the trick is passed, mother to baby, down the generations. It鈥檚 part of their culture. In East Africa they catch termites using twigs while the babies watch and learn. The youngsters get the basics almost immediately: it鈥檚 something to do with a stick. In some extraordinary footage, the mother tries to help and is pushed away by the youngster. With endless patience, she tries again, attempting to show the baby that a smaller stick would work better. Only humans are supposed actively to teach, but textbooks can be rewritten if necessary. Young chimps get enormous pleasure from termite fishing. A hunger to learn, and satisfaction with success, is also part of our biology. It must drive a lot of what we do.