Once thought to be unique to humans, culture—including community-specific behaviors and dialects—is now recognized in several animal species. A groundbreaking study from the Taï Chimpanzee Project in West Africa has identified four distinct mating-related gestures, or “dialects,” used by male chimpanzees to attract mates.
The observed dialects include:
- Heel-kick – stomping or kicking against a hard surface to make noise
- Knuckle-knock – quietly knocking knuckles on hard surfaces (unique to the Northeast community)
- Leaf-clip – biting and shredding leaves to produce a tearing sound
- Branch-shake – shaking tree branches to draw attention
Notably, the knuckle-knock was once present in the North community, but has disappeared since 1999 due to population decline, illustrating how social behaviors can shift or vanish with changes in community dynamics.
(Source: TH)
