The fire-dancing behaviour was seem several times in the savannah region of Fongoli in Senegal, West Africa Chimps appear to ritualistically 'dance' in the face of forest blazes indicating they are able to understand and even control fire, say researchers.
Scientists believe this observation could shed light on a key moment in man's evolution in that it shows when our ancestors first controlled fire.
The study found that instead of running away from a blaze, the chimps watched it very carefully and showed no signs of fear. The alpha male was even observed making a display or dance while looking at the flames.
The study found that instead of running away from a blaze, the chimps watched it carefully and showed no signs of fearJill Pruetz, an anthropologist at Iowa State University, told the Independent that she saw the fire-dancing behaviour various times in the savannah region of Fongoli in Senegal.
'I was really surprised at how good the chimps were at predicting the behaviour of fire,' she said.
'These were the fires that occur at the end of the dry season and they can burn very hot and can move very swiftly. The chimps were much better than I was in predicting how the fire would move.
'In one case, the fire was around us on three sides yet they were very calm and they minimised the distance and the amount of time they had to move.'
The primatologist Jane Goodall observed 'rain-dancing' behaviour when the alpha chimp would sway in slow motion when a thunderstorm was approaching.
Dr Pruetz explained in the study, to be published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, that this was similar.
'Chimps everywhere have what is called a rain dance and it's just a big male display to show dominance. Males display all the time for different reasons, but when there's a big thunderstorm approaching they do this exaggerated display, it's almost like slow motion,' she said.
'When I was with this one party of chimps at Fongoli, the dominant male did the same sort of thing, but it was towards the fire, so I called it the fire dance.
'It wasn't directed at other members of the group but at the fire itself. As the fire approached them, and the sound of cracking and popping was really deafening, the male started this exaggerated display.'
She explained that it was important to conceptualise fire to overcome the fear of it.
'Some people think that for humans there is an innate fear of fire and to overcome it is the first step in ultimately controlling it and being able to make fire,' she added.
The area in West Africa where the behaviour was observed
The 'fire-dancing' was similar to the 'rain-dancing' observed by the famed primatologist Jane Goodall. This occurred when a thunderstorm was approaching'I think that chimps are perfectly capable of controlling fire. We watch their behaviour in the face of fire and we think they can conceptualise fire and we see that captive apes can control fire.
'But then we have to ask why would they do it [in the wild], what is the impetus?
'If we have this animal that is small-brained but cognitively sophisticated, maybe we should rethink those data from Australopithecines [early human ancestors] in how they may have reacted to fire and reconsider the data that indicate there was some kind of control of fire.'
source: dailymail
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