Are we the only animals that play pretend?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
By two years old, we understand imaginary scenarios. This helps us make future plans. As far as we know, no other animals can… or are we just imagining that?
Amalia Bastos and team from Johns Hopkins University say… NAY!
With help from Kanzi, a language-trained bonobo!
Researchers feigned pouring juice into two cups. One cup was pretend “emptied,” and Kanzi was asked to point out which cup still had pretend “juice.” Seventy percent of the time, Kanzi nailed it!
Huge news for us and apes! We now suspect our last common ancestor also played make-believe – millions of years ago!
Pretend cheers to that!
Reference: Bastos, A., Krupenye, C. Evidence for representation of pretend objects by Kanzi, a language-trained bonobo. Science 391, 583-586 (2026). DOI:10.1126/science.adz0743