The modern hazard of crossing the road has revealed an unprecedented chivalrous streak among wild chimpanzees, according to video footage released yesterday.
When faced with a busy road, large male chimps headed to the front of the pack to check the road was clear before leading females and their young across. Meanwhile, other males headed to the back of the group to bring up the rear. Often, a high-ranking male assumed the role of lollipop man by wandering on to the road and checking it for traffic until the entire pack had crossed safely.
Experts in animal behaviour recorded the extraordinary footage while filming a mixed group of 12 chimps in Guinea, western Africa, as they negotiated two roads that ran through their territory. One road was a simple mud track used as a path by local pedestrians, the other had recently been widened to carry trucks, cars and motorbikes.
The footage, amassed over three months, shows the pack of three adult males, five adult females, three younger chimps and one infant, crossing the roads near the small town of Bossou to reach foraging grounds on the other side.
You can see the video here. It's a link to an avi file. I had to download it to make it work. Maybe you'll fare better. Either way, it's a fascinating piece of film.
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