![]() The animals had to be taught to be as stupid as we assumed they were. “The apes were retrained to spill the tea, throw food around, drink from the teapot’s spout,” and so on. “When the public tea parties began to threaten the human ego, something had to be done,” de Waal writes. ![]() ![]() Not surprisingly - to de Waal, at least - the apes in London quickly mastered the teacups and teapot too. For example - one of many examples - wild chimps in Gabon have been observed employing five different tools, in a methodical sequence, to break open beehives, pry the chambers apart, scoop out the honey and convey it to their mouths. But, as Frans de Waal explains in “Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?,” apes are actually innovative, agile tool-users. ![]() It was supposed to be amusing - a comic, reckless collision of beasts and high culture. It used to happen every day at the London Zoo: Out came the dainty table and chairs, the china cups and saucers - afternoon tea, set out for the inhabitants of the ape enclosure to throw and smash. ![]()
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