If you happened to tune into BBC Two today at 8pm, you will get to see a nature documentary shot and directed by chimpanzees. Yes, we’re talking about the ‘The Chimpcam Project’, a film shot by chimpanzees at Edinburgh Zoo. Led by Betsy Herrelko, behavioural scientist at the University of Stirling, the 18-month project aims to gain a deeper understanding of the behaviour of chimps and how they perceive the world.
Eleven of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom were trained in using touch-screen technology, so choosing what they wanted to watch, be it their keepers preparing food for them or their outside enclosure was quick and easy. The animals were given a chimp-proof video camera that was encased in a sturdy box which had a monitor that let them see the scenes they were filming.
Thus the filming exercise was designed to give scientists an in-depth view into the world of the chimps, and the viewers a picture of the world through the eyes of the Congo river inhabitants. Though the studies and activities were created by the scientists, the activities of the chimps that followed were completely up to them, said Betsy Herrelko. “Being able to view life as the chimps see it is something that I will never forget” she added.
