Apes and the Evolution of Humor

Two gorillas playing. Credit: Max Block.

Are humans the only animals with a mischievous sense of humor? Where did our ability to joke with one another come from? In a new study, a team of scientists report evidence of playful teasing in four great ape species: orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas. These findings suggest that the cognitive building blocks of humor were likely inherited by apes and humans from our last common ancestor at least 13 million years ago.

Read more at my Animal Minds blog: Teasing Apes Suggest Humor Has Deep Evolutionary Roots.