At the Furuvik Zoo in Sweden, a male chimpanzee named Santino exhibited remarkable behavior: he began collecting stones in advance to later throw them at visitors.
Every day when the zoo was closed, the animal would spend a long time picking up stones and hiding them in secluded spots in the enclosure, clearly preparing for future attacks. When people arrived, Santino would become excited and start throwing stones with such intensity that the keepers compared it to hail, reports IFLScience.
Santino did not limit himself to collecting ready-made stones — he refined his technique by breaking concrete surfaces in the enclosure to create suitable projectiles. Such behavior was interpreted by scientists as a manifestation of the ability to plan actions for the future — a quality that is extremely rare among animals.
Later, the chimpanzee became even more cunning: he began hiding the prepared stones under hay and other cover to catch visitors off guard.
Santino's behavior helped scientists better understand how close the cognitive abilities of chimpanzees are to the human mind.
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