Apes can recognize old friends they haven't seen for decades, according to new research, and it's the longest-lasting social memory ever documented outside humans.
Researchers found that chimpanzees and bonobos were able to recognize photos of former groupmates more than 25 years after last seeing them in the flesh, with photos of old friends eliciting an even more positive response, .
Senior author Christopher Krupenye, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University who studies animal cognition, told CNN the research was inspired by his experience working with apes and sensing that they recognized him even years after their last interaction.
In order to test this, Krupenye and lead author Laura Lewis, a biological anthropologist and comparative psychologist at University of California, Berkeley, used photographs of apes who had died or left groups at Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, Planckendael Zoo in Belgium and Kumamoto Sanctuary in Japan.
The team selected individuals whom the participating apes hadn't seen for time periods ranging from nine months to 26 years, who had high-quality images available on file, and noted what kind of relationship the participants had had with the individuals.
Researchers then left two photographs — one of the ape they had known and another of a stranger — accessible to the apes, and used a noninvasive eye-tracking device to measure where they looked and for how long.
Results showed that the apes looked "significantly longer" at those they knew, no matter how long it had been since they last saw them, and even longer still at those they had been friendly with.
Krupenye likens the experience to bumping into someone from high school in the street after not seeing them for years.
"It's a very familiar experience for humans too," he told CNN.
One bonobo, Louise, had not seen sister Loretta or nephew Erin for 26 years at the time of the test, but she "showed a strikingly robust looking bias toward both of them over eight trials," according to a news release.
Researchers believe that apes' social memory could extend beyond 26 years and could even be comparable with that of humans, who start to forget people after 15 years but can remember them for as long as 48 years, the release added.
"This seems to be approaching sort of life-long memory for these animals," Krupenye told CNN.
This is also a new record for the length of social memory in nonhuman animals, after previous research showed that dolphins remembered individuals they hadn't seen for 20 years, according to the researchers.
The results show that social memory is a more broadly ape trait that we share with our closest relatives, rather than something that evolved separately in humans, Krupenye said.
The study also raises the possibility that apes are capable of missing their loved ones.
"The idea that they do remember others and therefore they may miss these individuals is really a powerful cognitive mechanism and something that's been thought of as uniquely human," Lewis said in the news release.
"Our study doesn't determine they are doing this, but it raises questions about the possibility that they may have the ability to do so."
The authors hope the study will raise awareness around how poaching and deforestation can affect ape communities by separating groupmates, and boost conservation efforts.
"We hope that these results will provide people more empathy with our closest living cousins," Lewis told CNN, emphasizing that bonobos could go extinct in our lifetime.
Next up, the team plans to investigate if apes can recognize former friends as they look now, rather than when they left the group, as well as whether other primates such as gorillas and orangutans also possess long-lasting social memories.
"I would be very surprised if we didn't see similar effects in other apes," said Krupenye, who added that their method could be used to investigate social memory in other animals, such as sheep and dogs.
It's been exactly three years since Canadian Michael Kovrig returned to Canada after spending 1,019 days in a Chinese prison. Now, he's publicly speaking out about his arrest and detainment for the first time.
Cineplex Inc. has been ordered to pay a record $38.9 million fine after the Competition Tribunal found the theatre owner guilty of deceptive marketing practices.
While many Canadians no longer stress as much about COVID-19 as they did during its peak, health experts say a new variant has been spreading in some parts of the world and is now present in Canada.
Police say a toddler in Cambridge, Ont., who was reported missing early Monday morning, has since died.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon Monday killed more than 490 people, including more than 90 women and children, Lebanese authorities said, in the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
On Sept. 20, Justice R.E. Nation of the Alberta Court of King's Bench found Craig McMorran guilty of fraud, money laundering and stealing a cottage from its rightful owners.
B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered WestJet to refund a family in full for their diverted flight and compensate them for associated costs.
The City of Montreal has issued a lockdown notice for residents in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough due to smoke from a fire in a container storing 15,000 kilograms of lithium batteries in the Port of Montreal.
A new analysis of dozens of arrowheads is helping researchers piece together a clearer portrait of the warriors who clashed on Europe’s oldest known battlefield 3,250 years ago.
On Sept. 20, Justice R.E. Nation of the Alberta Court of King's Bench found Craig McMorran guilty of fraud, money laundering and stealing a cottage from its rightful owners.
It's been exactly three years since Canadian Michael Kovrig returned to Canada after spending 1,019 days in a Chinese prison. Now, he's publicly speaking out about his arrest and detainment for the first time.
Ontario's police watchdog is investigating after a Durham officer discharged a Taser and an anti-riot weapon at a 15-year-old boy in north Oshawa on Sunday.
The City of Montreal has issued a lockdown notice for residents in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough due to smoke from a fire in a container storing 15,000 kilograms of lithium batteries in the Port of Montreal.
Authorities are investigating a report that violence erupted on a pickleball court in B.C.'s Lower Mainland over the weekend.
Police say a toddler in Cambridge, Ont., who was reported missing early Monday morning, has since died.
Malaysian police said Monday they have rescued 187 more children and raided locations nationwide linked to an Islamic business group that is being investigated for alleged sexual assault of children.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon Monday killed more than 490 people, including more than 90 women and children, Lebanese authorities said, in the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.
Japan’s meteorological agency on Tuesday issued a tsunami advisory to a group of remote islands south of Tokyo after a strong earthquake.
A mentally ill man who killed 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in 2021 was convicted Monday of murder and faces life in prison.
A Soyuz capsule carrying two Russians and one American from the International Space Station landed Monday in Kazakhstan, ending a record-breaking stay for the Russian pair.
The man accused in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump at a golf course in Florida left behind a note saying that he intended to kill the former president and maintained in his car a handwritten list of dates and venues where Trump was to appear, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday.
Following another byelection loss in a riding long considered a Liberal stronghold, coupled with the news another minister is quitting cabinet — and opting to sit as an independent MP — the weekly panel of political strategists on CTV's Question Period weighs in on the Liberals' political fortunes.
Justin Trudeau will turn his focus to the ongoing crises in Haiti as he speaks with some world leaders Monday ahead of the 78th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus gave MPs a stern warning on Monday about improving their behaviour as they prepare for a fractious debate about whether the Liberals should continue to govern.
Private nursing agencies could cost Canadian health-care facilities approximately $1.5 billion in 2023-24, according to a new report commissioned by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.
While many Canadians no longer stress as much about COVID-19 as they did during its peak, health experts say a new variant has been spreading in some parts of the world and is now present in Canada.
There are 'no restrictions' on the right to receive health services in Quebec for English speakers, according to a new clarification document issued by the Quebec Health Ministry on Monday.
A new analysis of dozens of arrowheads is helping researchers piece together a clearer portrait of the warriors who clashed on Europe’s oldest known battlefield 3,250 years ago.
Finally, an emoji to represent us all is coming soon: An exhausted face with bags under its eyes.
A Soyuz capsule carrying two Russians and one American from the International Space Station landed Monday in Kazakhstan, ending a record-breaking stay for the Russian pair.
Beverly Glenn-Copeland says he's been diagnosed with dementia and will play his final concert tour dates over the next two weeks.
The sexual assault trial for Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard, the former frontman for the band Hedley, is expected to begin in northern Ontario this week, following a jury selection process.
The Juno Awards are casting a spotlight on Canadian-made South Asian music as part of broader changes to the annual celebration.
Cineplex Inc. has been ordered to pay a record $38.9 million fine after the Competition Tribunal found the theatre owner guilty of deceptive marketing practices.
B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered WestJet to refund a family in full for their diverted flight and compensate them for associated costs.
Canadian natural gas prices slumped to their lowest level in more than two years on Monday and are expected to remain under pressure for weeks.
The City of Ottawa says it is recruiting a 'nightlife council' to aid the city's recently appointed nightlife commissioner.
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Surfer Mickey Brennan says he's 'amazed' to be alive after wiping out in a giant wave off Tasmania.
The Toronto Raptors are planning to retire Vince Carter's jersey next month, sources tell TSN.
The Philadelphia Flyers had a former hockey coach help him Monday at training camp — the father of the late John and Matthew Gaudreau, who was an invited guest.
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Northvolt plans to cut 1,600 jobs at its base in Sweden, or about a fifth of its global workforce, as Europe's biggest hope in the electric vehicle battery market struggles with production problems, sluggish demand and competition from China.
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A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.
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Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
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BC Conservative leader John Rustad dropped a major policy plan Sunday, pledging to eliminate supervised drug consumption sites across B.C. and replace them with intake centres for treatment and recovery.
B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered WestJet to refund a family in full for their diverted flight and compensate them for associated costs.
A pedestrian has died and another is injured following a two-vehicle collision in Toronto's west end, paramedics say.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) should investigate how some students on a recent school field trip ended up at a rally where pro-Palestinian slogans were shouted.
A Toronto rapper who was charged in a fatal 2021 shooting has been released after a judge dismissed social media evidence in the case.
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The City of Calgary has opened applications to design its permanent residential school memorial and the winning plan will be chosen in mid-2025.
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The City of Ottawa says it is recruiting a 'nightlife council' to aid the city's recently appointed nightlife commissioner.
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Construction on Almon Street in Halifax that started more than a month ago will continue longer than expected after city crews uncovered old tram lines beneath the road.
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Three people were killed Monday morning in a crash north of Wellesley.
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The Saskatchewan Government is fighting to have a Court of King's Bench decision reversed. A decision which would allow a constitutional challenge of its Parents' Bill of Rights.
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The Saskatchewan Ministry of Education says a woman facing an assault charge is no longer working at a private Christian school where the alleged incident took place.
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519 Meets organized a car rally in south London on Saturday in a Value Village parking lot, and it turned out to be their largest ever.
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Casino Rama announced three new performances will hit the stage this winter.
Some changes could be coming to one of the busiest streets in Simcoe County.
A Brampton man faces charges after police say a dispute over an unpaid bill at Blue Mountain Resort turned into a confrontation.
Following the discovery of a potential petroleum well found in downtown Wheatley, the Municipality of Chatham-Kent is holding a community open house on Tuesday afternoon.
On Monday, most Windsor city councillors voted against a motion to cancel the development at 3930 and 3950 Sixth Concession Road, allowing the 24-unit townhouse project to proceed.
Windsor police have arrested one suspect and is looking for another after shots were fired during an altercation downtown.
B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered WestJet to refund a family in full for their diverted flight and compensate them for associated costs.
BC Conservative leader John Rustad dropped a major policy plan Sunday, pledging to eliminate supervised drug consumption sites across B.C. and replace them with intake centres for treatment and recovery.
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The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.
Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.
Farmers in southern Alberta are working to wrap up harvest, with 80 per cent of major crops in the bin, according to the province's latest crop report.
Monday marked the official start of Reconciliation Week in Lethbridge.
A Medicine Hat man faces charges after police say they found him in possession of drugs and a .22-calibre pen gun.
After playing the lottery for more than 40 years, a Greater Sudbury woman made a huge windfall playing a scratch ticket game.
A family dispute related to a property matter turned ugly over the weekend when a 71-year-old hit their head on the pavement after being pushed.
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 36-year-old suspect with drug trafficking and other charges following a weekend raid of a residence on Robin Street.
Newfoundland and Labrador sponsored a minor football team in England, now they’re about to play one of the biggest clubs in European soccer.
Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
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