Chimpanzees Drum on Trees to Communicate

Two new studies reveal some of the reasons why our closest living relatives drum on tree roots — and even whip up their own signature sounds.

By Joshua Rapp Learn
Sep 16, 2022 2:00 PMSep 16, 2022 12:00 PM
Chimpanzees
(Credit: Kirill Trubitsyn/Shutterstock)

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The drumbeats are let out in short bursts across the rainforest — a deep but quick staccato. The Nimba Mountains of Guinea provide a spectacular backdrop for the short performance, with their tall peaks and deep valleys, yet it’s the performers themselves — chimpanzees — that have researchers flocking to the forests.

The apes there have a habit of drumming on the tops of roots that stretch from the base of tree trunks. Jane Goodall and others have long assumed that this behavior represents a form of communication between chimps. But researchers didn’t empirically test the hypothesis until recently.

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