Gorillas getting smarter

For the first time, staff at the Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda witnessed gorillas dismantling the types of snares that have killed two juvenile gorillas this year. The staff knew the gorillas could do this, but they’d never seen them. I fully support this type of evolution.

One of the staff members reported he moved to dismantle the snare when a silverback (adult male) in the group grunted at him warning him to stay back. Then two youngsters named Dukore and Rwema and a blackback (teen male) named Tetero ran toward the snare. Together they jumped on the taught branch attached to a rope noose and removed the rope. They then ran over to another nearby snare and destroyed it the same way. Pictures the staff members took show the young gorillas then examining broken sticks used to camouflage the noose on the ground.

Add this to the list of monkeys getting smarter, and realize Planet of the Apes was a documentary from the future sent back in time.

• gorillas