You see a cat chasing a mouse. You probably don't realize it, but as soon as you catch sight of this scene unfolding, your brain makes a key distinction between the cat and the mouse: It identifies who's chasing, and who's being chased. This capacity to distinguish between the "agent" (the entity performing an action) and the "patient" (the entity upon which that action is being performed) is called "event decomposition," and it's long been thought that it was unique to humans. However, a new study published in PLOS Biology on November 26 suggests that this is not the case: great apes (specifically gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans) also seem to track events in the way that we do, distinguishing between agent and patient. This finding is notable because scientists believe event decomposition lies at the heart of something that is unique to humans.

A three year hunt for patterns hidden in the roars, sighs, and other noises made by Indonesia's orangutans has discovered'a full spectrum' of complex vocalizations. The breakthrough comes hot on the heels of other recent discoveries further revealing the depth of the great ape's intelligence -- including one orangutan's practice of healing its own injuries with a self-prepared medicinal herb. The research team reinforced their analysis by testing artificial intelligence (AI) detection methods against the painstaking work of biologists and bioacoustics scientists, employing only their trained ears, intellects and measurement tools. The Cornell University-led team pooled together a dataset of 117 recorded'long calls' made by 13 males of one particular species, the Bornean orangutan, employing 46 acoustic measurements on 1,033 distinct pulses detected within those calls. 'These features would seem to greatly boost the potential complexity of this signal,' they wrote, suggesting humanity might soon know what the great apes are saying.

Bonobos are our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, sharing about 98.7 per cent of our DNA - and it seem they have picked up a few human-like characteristics along the way. A new study has revealed that the apes produce high-pitched'baby-like' cries when they are attacked, in order to attract comfort from others. These displays of distress are strategic, increasing their chances of receiving consolation from bonobo bystanders, scientists claim. They resemble those typically used by infants - such as pouting, whimpering and showing tantrums. The study by psychologists at Durham University reveals that adult bonobos are also less likely to be re-attacked by their former opponent when they display these'baby-like' signals following a conflict.

Disney's 2019 remake of its 1994 classic "The Lion King" was a box-office success, grossing more than one and a half billion dollars. But it was also, in some ways, a failed experiment. The film's photo-realistic, computer-generated animals spoke with the rich, complex voices of actors such as Donald Glover and Chiwetel Ejiofor--and many viewers found it hard to reconcile the complex intonations of those voices with the feline gazes on the screen. In giving such persuasively nonhuman animals human personalities and thoughts, the film created a kind of cognitive dissonance. It had been easier to imagine the interiority of the stylized beasts in the original film.

Dr. John Lilly, a man of many interests, including the bases of human consciousness, found a great deal of inspiration in dolphins as well, devising many experiments to ascertain if dolphins could communicate with humans and vice versa. His work helped prop up the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Aside from cetaceans, elephants and great apes have long been subjects of study into their apparently high levels of sentience. Great apes, belonging to the Hominidae family, to which we humans also belong, include gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, and bonobos. There is currently a movement, gathering momentum, to push for rights to be granted to non-human animals.

Our planet is an amazing place, full of life that defies expectations at every turn. There are other animals on Earth aside from humans that exhibit BOTH intelligence and sentience, in every way you might choose to interpret those definitions. Is intelligence unique to Earth? We may never know for sure, but science so far has shown us that it is not unique to humanity. Consider the bottlenose dolphin, a creature that shares a similarly large and complex brain with humans, which is capable of understanding numerical continuity and perhaps even discriminate between numbers.

A ground-breaking study has revealed that members of the great apes, such as bonobos, chimps and orangutans, have a theory of mind. This, researchers say, proves they can understand others' mental states -- an ability previously though exclusively reserved to humans. The idea other animals possess this trait has been debated for decades and researchers at Kyoto University think they have proved its existence. A ground-breaking study has revealed that members of the great apes, such as bonobos, chimps and orangutans, have a theory of mind. This, researchers say, proves they can understand others' mental states Theory of mind is a higher cognitive function which allows individuals to understand others' mental states.

Clever crows can assemble tools from two or more components without any help, a feat previously seen only in humans and great apes. The birds were filmed slotting together rod pieces to create a tool long enough to extract a morsel of food which scientists had hidden away. In one experiment, they were presented with disassembled syringes, and created the right length of tool without any prompt or demonstration. The birds' ability to anticipate what an unseen object will be able to do matches the intelligence of a human toddler, Oxford University researchers said. The animals in the experiment were New Caledonian crows - a species native to a large Pacific island east of Australia of the same name.

Our planet is an amazing place, full of life that defies expectations at every turn. There are other animals on Earth aside from humans that exhibit BOTH intelligence and sentience, in every way you might choose to interpret those definitions. Is intelligence unique to Earth? We may never know for sure, but science so far has shown us that it is not unique to humanity. Consider the bottlenose dolphin, a creature that shares a similarly large and complex brain with humans, which is capable of understanding numerical continuity and perhaps even discriminate between numbers.

Toddlers use the same gestures as chimpanzees and gorillas showing they really are just'tiny apes', claim researchers. One to two year olds use 52 limb and body movements to communicate - nine in ten of which are observed in great apes. This is a crucial stage of development when infants are on the cusp of learning language, say Scottish scientists behind the findings. Toddlers use the same gestures as chimpanzees and gorillas showing they really are just'tiny apes', claim researchers. Senior author Dr Catherine Hobaiter, of the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at St Andrews University, said: 'Wild chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos and orangutans all use gestures to communicate their day-to-day requests.