Chimps Can Change Their 'Words'

Chimpanzees are all about communication when it comes to their food. While scientists already knew that chimps make different grunt noises for different types of food, they recently discovered that the primates can actually alter their grunts when they are around new groups of chimps. Scientists studied what happened when seven adult chimps from the Netherlands were moved into a zoo with chimps in Edinburgh, Scotland. The newcomer chimps had grunted loudly but learned to emit softer grunts, following the lead of their Edinburgh hosts. The Netherlands chimps showed that the chimp grunts aren't as rigid as scientists once believed and that chimps can possibly learn from each other.