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"You stupid monkey" - insults that are often used, but do not correspond at all to reality. Because apes in particular are very intelligent animals. But even monkey researchers do not agree on how clever they really are. However, one thing is certain: in some tests, apes perform even better than humans.

Not only in the experimental laboratory, but also in the wild, great apes prove their intelligence every day anew. For example, they are among the few animal species that are able to use tools. It is astonishing that apes obviously think about problems.

It has often been observed that chimpanzees can crack a nut with a stone. Although they sometimes need years to understand the equation "nut plus stone equals food", this action still requires the conscious linking of two objects. Apart from the great apes, only individual bird species, such as crows, can understand similar relationships.

Nevertheless, researchers do not agree on the extent to which apes really understand what they are doing. Scientists from all over the world are discussing whether the animals are able to knowingly adopt learned techniques - for example the use of tools - from their fellow species.

It is undisputed that great apes imitate the behaviour of others. But it has not yet been clarified whether they also understand the causal connection of the action, for example the goal of cracking a nut, or whether they simply copy the technology for social reasons.

The decisive question in this context is: Can apes really understand, is there any insight? Or do they only know how to learn associations?

The animal combines a certain action with a result (often a reward) and repeats the action to achieve the same result. Some researchers believe that the apes still don't understand why the result occurs.