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Study Reveals Bonobo Kanzi's Groundbreaking Imagination Skills

2/16/2026

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Summary

Story summary

A Johns Hopkins University study shows bonobo Kanzi can engage in pretend play, challenging the view that imagination is uniquely human.
In experiments, Kanzi tracked imaginary objects like juice and grapes by locating their imagined positions.
This marks the first evidence that apes understand pretense.
Researchers estimate the ability may date back 6 to 9 million years to a common ancestor with humans, and plan further studies on ape imagination.

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Story summary

A Johns Hopkins University study shows bonobo Kanzi can engage in pretend play, challenging the view that imagination is uniquely human.
In experiments, Kanzi tracked imaginary objects like juice and grapes by locating their imagined positions.
This marks the first evidence that apes understand pretense.
Researchers estimate the ability may date back 6 to 9 million years to a common ancestor with humans, and plan further studies on ape imagination.