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<\/div>A chimpanzee mother and infant in Kibale National Park, Uganda<\/p>\n
Dr. Kris Sabbi, Tufts University<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
When there isn\u2019t much food to go around, most chimpanzees stop playing altogether to conserve energy, but mothers continue to spend lots of time playing with their young. Play<\/a> is vital for the physical and psychological development of young chimps, so it might be that mothers invest energy in this behaviour to nurture their child, even when times are tough.<\/p>\n Great apes<\/a> such as gorillas, bonobos and chimpanzees all have a penchant for playing, which includes tickling, poking and chasing each other<\/a>. \u201cPlay helps to develop both motor and social skills,\u201d says Zarin Machanda<\/a> at Tufts University in Massachusetts. \u201cIt is something that babies really need to do in order to develop properly.\u201d<\/p>\n For over a decade, Machanda and her colleagues have been observing a community of around 60 eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii<\/em>) living in Kibale National Park in Uganda. In total, the team recorded 3891 bouts of play between 2010 and 2019.<\/p>\n \n