Why do male chimpanzees throw rocks at the same trees for more than a decade?

4 months ago by resipsaloquitur to c/nottheonion

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/54243

Walking through the savanna-woodland landscape of Boé National Park, Guinea-Bissau, you might encounter a tree covered in gnarled scars, with an accumulation of rocks surrounding its base.

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fullsquare 105 points 4 months ago

god forbid a man has hobbies

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zakobjoa 85 points 4 months ago

Just me and the homies meeting up to throw rocks at our rock tree.

Journal: being super judgemental for no reason.

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JohnnyEnzyme 4 points 4 months ago

Journal: being super judgemental for no reason.

Just scientific method at work, methinks.

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makeshiftreaper 55 points 4 months ago

I've done dumber shit with my bros and theoretically we have higher order thinking

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youCanCallMeDragon 27 points 4 months ago

Theoretically

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Janx 47 points 4 months ago

Because fuck that specific tree. 🖕

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Thassodar 9 points 4 months ago

Man FUCK that tree! My homie fell off that tree once, hit his head pretty bad, never been the same so... FUCK that tree!

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diabetic_porcupine 1 point 4 months ago

Hoo hoo hoo hAAAA HAA HAA

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JoMiran 36 points 4 months ago

Sounds suspiciously similar to archery, hatchet throwing, knife throwing, and all other target practice hobbies.

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Viceversa 3 points 4 months ago

But why one specific tree?

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clif 10 points 4 months ago

Because fuck that tree in particular.

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JoMiran 4 points 4 months ago

How else are they going to compare shots unless they aim at the same target?

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Viceversa 1 point 4 months ago

You can throw stones several times to any other tree

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JohnnyEnzyme 2 points 4 months ago

That's what I was thinking. Their forebears settled upon a favorite tree(s), it caught on in popularity, got passed down, and all that. I mean, it's as good a hypothesis as anything else, far as I know.

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mech 25 points 4 months ago

They're training

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Imperious_melange 13 points 4 months ago

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Contingencyfork 21 points 4 months ago

'Why do teenagers kick the can down the same lane every year?'

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Treczoks 20 points 4 months ago

Have you ever followed what Muslims do on the Hadj? They throw stones at three pillars representing Satan. Maybe the monkeys have invented religion?

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Viceversa 3 points 4 months ago

Pillars? I thought they throw stones to a giant black cube

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Treczoks 8 points 4 months ago

Nope. That cube is the thing they walk around seven times, but on another day.

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phutatorius 1 point 4 months ago

And inside the cube is an altar made from an iron-nickel meteorite.

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Treczoks 1 point 4 months ago

It's not inside, it is inset into a corner on the outside.

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hansolo 8 points 4 months ago

It's pillars. The cube is what they pray towards.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoning_of_the_Devil

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phutatorius 3 points 4 months ago

Wow, I just posted that, and now I'm going to have to go back and delete my post.

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Bob_Robertson_IX 12 points 4 months ago

Because it's what they've always done.

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Soulphite 6 points 4 months ago

The hairless ape is fascinated by things the hairy apes do. Why?

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phutatorius 1 point 4 months ago

I find our cousins entertaining.

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gnate 4 points 4 months ago

They're inventing cricket!

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phutatorius 1 point 4 months ago

We'll know for sure when one chimp bites another's face off for being LBW.

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Gust 4 points 4 months ago

What a strange thing to do. Completely unrelated, I'm gonna go find some smooth stones to skip on a lake because it looks cool and I like the sound

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silly_goose 4 points 4 months ago

because passing time without a smartphone is just too darn hard.

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Brummbaer 2 points 4 months ago

When we discover that this is basically religion, a lot of people will be really confused and in denial.

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Jerb322 2 points 4 months ago

Does it make a loud noise? They also stomp on some tree trunks to make a loud drumming sound. Or a visual mark for others to see, maybe.Territorial thing.

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phutatorius 1 point 4 months ago

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quick_snail 0 points 4 months ago

Article doesn't load

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