Social connections seemed to influence their curiosity: When an orangutan was accompanied by another ape, it was more likely to approach and touch the object.
When they’re in captivity, great apes usually spend a long time exploring new objects. But researchers knew little about how that curiosity might play out in the wild., a protected biodiversity area in Sumatra whose orangutans are monitored by conservation biologists. But during those earlier experiments, the apes were so cautious of the new items that the experiments failed.
The apes rarely touched the branch, often using a tool such as a stick to do so. They were also less likely to approach the honey-stuffed branch in areas where food was abundant.But social connections seemed to influence their curiosity: When an orangutan was accompanied by another ape, it was more likely to approach and touch the object., the researchers say the study’s results shed light on how human curiosity may have evolved.
“We often think of learning and innovation as solo acts, but this might not have been the case in our early history,” said Caroline Schuppli, director of the orangutan research project at Suaq Balimbing and the study’s first author. “If novelty was the spark, then our social lives might have provided the accelerant.”
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