Children love to play pretend, holding imaginary tea parties, educating classrooms of teddies or running their own grocery ...

Apes, like humans, are capable of pretend play, challenging long-held views about how animals think, a new study suggests.

Scientists tested a bonobo called Kanzi and found evidence he could understand pretend objects, suggesting imagination may not be human-only.

Discover how an ape playing tea party teaches us humans are not the only beings with complex mental lives.

A bonobo demonstrated the ability to track imaginary objects in controlled tests, challenging the belief that imagination is uniquely human and hinting at deep evolutionary roots. In a set of ...

Remember childhood tea parties? The cups are empty, the teapot is dry, yet the air is thick with the drama of imagined pouring, sipping, and spilling. The mental gymnastics required to participate in ...

Humans aren't the only species that can pretend, a study shows. Scientists offered a bonobo imaginary juice and grapes in a make-believe tea party, and the ape played along.

A bonobo named Kanzi surprised scientists by successfully playing along in pretend tea party experiments, tracking imaginary juice and grapes as if they were real. He consistently pointed to the ...

An ape was able to identify the location of imaginary objects in pretend scenarios, researchers find ...

An experiment to determine if Kanzi, a 43-year-old male bonobo, could imagine and recognize virtual drinks or food. A research team from the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Johns ...

Discover some interesting facts about bonobos, the peaceful and endangered great apes found only in the Congo rainforest.

World Bonobo Day reminds us that one of our closest relatives lives by cooperation, not conflict, and now faces serious ...