Chimps and humans might be more similar than what we think!

When you go to the zoo, what is your favorite animal? Is it the elephant? Maybe it's the zebra or the tapir? Mine has always been the chimpanzee. Their faces are so expressive and they seem to have so much fun!   Researchers who work with chimpanzees (chimps, for short) are finding out some new and exciting things about them. They are finding that chimps might be more like humans than we ever thought!   Dr. Frans De Waal is a primatologist who works with chimps all over the world. A primatologist is a scientist who studies monkeys He says that one way that Chimps and Humans are similar to each other is that chimps try to be fair with each other. They also recognize each other and think about the other chimp's feelings.*   Dr. Waal thinks that chimps try to be fair and thoughtful because it makes it easier to survive in the wild. If one chimp helps another chimp now, then maybe he will get helped in the future. This might make finding food and protecting himself easier. Have you ever had a friend yawn and then you yawn as well? Scientists know that the more we think about the feelings of others, the more likely we will be to yawn when our friends yawn. Dr. Waal has found that chimps are the same way. If one chimp yawns, his friend is likely to yawn too. The better the friend of the chimp, the more likely he is to yawn. [box type="default" size="medium" title="Fun Fact: Do you know why we yawn? " right_title="More about animals" right_description=" " url="http://thewhiztimes.com/tag/animals/" style="arrow green" ]Nobody knows exactly why but the most common idea is that we yawn to get more air into our lungs. It's our body's way of letting us know we need more oxygen. Chimpanzees are pretty closely related to humans. In fact, we share 99% of the same DNA! So, it makes sense that they would share some of the same thoughts and feelings that we have.       Featured Photo credit: http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-3020466221