From Andy Howe
Your look at animal memory mentioned Santino the chimp, who collects and hides rocks to later throw at zoo visitors (6 October, p 34). This reminded me of a visit to a French zoo, where the chimps were in a glass enclosure, the glass panels held in place between steel columns, with small gaps between the two.
One chimp was poking a thin bamboo stick through the gap to entice visitors to grab it, whereupon he’d yank it away and cackle victoriously. My daughter had a go and beat the chimp at his own game. He ran around furiously before returning with a new stick. My daughter accepted the challenge, but discovered that the chimp had filled his mouth with water, which he spat through the gap. Honour restored, he cackled again.
Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK
