Imagine That!
An ape played pretend games with researchers, suggesting that some apes can use their imaginations.
© Uryadnikov Sergey/stock.adobe.com; Photo illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Can all bonobos play pretend games?
Have you ever played a game where you pretended? Maybe you imagined you were captain of a spaceship or a busy parent. It turns out, humans aren’t the only animals that are able to imagine and play pretend. In a recent study, a bonobo (a type of ape) played a pretend game with scientists.
In the study, scientists wanted to learn if a bonobo called Kanzi was able to act as if a pretend thing was real. They began by showing Kanzi a bottle of juice and an empty bottle and asking him to tell them which bottle had juice. Kanzi picked the correct bottle all 18 times he was asked.
Photo courtesy of Ape Initiative (apeinitiative.org)
Two bonobos, Kanzi and Nyota, spend time together in their home at the Ape Initiative in the U.S. state of Iowa.
A scientist then showed Kanzi two empty cups. The scientist pretended to pour juice from a pitcher into both cups and then from one cup back into the pitcher.
“Which cup has the juice?” the scientist asked Kanzi. The scientist did this several times. Sixty-eight percent of the time, Kanzi picked the cup that had the pretend juice in it.
To make sure Kanzi understood the difference between real juice and pretend juice, the scientist offered him an empty cup and a cup of real juice. He picked the cup of real juice nearly every time.
Photo courtesy of Ape Initiative (apeinitiative.org)
A closeup view shows Kanzi, the bonobo that played pretend games with scientists.
Kanzi, who sadly died in 2025, may not have been the best representative of what bonobos can do. He lived with humans and had been taught many English words, so he had an unusually good foundation for understanding humans.
But there are hints that other apes may share Kanzi’s gift of imagination. For example, scientists have seen a captive chimpanzee playing with what looked like imaginary blocks after playing with real blocks. They’ve also observed wild chimpanzees carrying sticks around as if they were babies, like human children play with dolls.
Scientists want to continue studying apes to learn more.
