Researchers in the African nation of Guinea have observed male chimps in the wild that have learned to spring snares set by humans without getting caught in the traps. Their findings, reported in the journal Primates, apparently mark the first time that chimps have been observed demonstrating the intelligence needed to identify a snare and then figure out how to deactivate it without being caught or injured. 
On six different occasions, the researchers saw five separate male chimps approach the snares and attempt to render them inoperable by shaking them until they sprung or knocking out a sapling that springs the trap. On two occasions, the scientists reported, the chimps successfully deactivated the traps, and on none of the six occasions did any of the chimps get caught in the snares. Humans lay snares across the African jungle to catch bushmeat, killing or injuring countless animals. However, the researchers reported few injuries among the chimps in the Bossou region of Guinea, possibly because the chimps there have learned to identify the snares and either render them harmless or avoid them.
iStockphoto.com