Chimpcam
Chimpcam: Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) use of a free-access video camera
Using a chimpanzee-friendly digital video camera (Chimpcam), the chimpanzees were able to view objects or other chimpanzees from a slightly different vantage point and use what they have learned in previous studies to explore the Chimpcam.
By learning more about their ability to manipulate a video camera in the simplest form (without traditional controls one would expect on a camera) and any implications group dynamics may have on its use, we hope to better understand both their understanding of referential images and also a bit more about the social dynamics of this captive group of chimpanzees.
The purpose of the study was to:
- Further examine understanding of video images by building on the chimpanzees’ previous experience with the touch-screen monitor (where they had access to their own live images and the live images of activity in their enclosure where they were not present)