Taï, Côte d'Ivoire - November 21, 2024 Credit: Liran Samuni/Taï Chimpanzee Project A groundbreaking study reveals that wild chimpanzees, like humans, engage in adult social play to enhance group cooperation, challenging previous beliefs that adult play is rare in the animal kingdom. Published in Current Biology, the research shows that chimpanzees in the Taï Forest of Côte d'Ivoire regularly participate in play even as adults, which fosters cooperation and strengthens social bonds within their groups. Adult play, often involving wrestling, mock biting, and chasing, is linked to successful collaboration in high-stakes activities like hunting and defending territory. Liran Samuni, lead researcher from the German Primate Center, emphasizes that this social play can promote teamwork, coordination, and tension relief, especially in times of social stress or conflict. “We’ve identified a strong link between joyous social play and intricate forms of cooperation in chimpanzees,” Samuni explains. The study highlights that adult play is more common in cohesive chimpanzee groups, suggesting that societies with high levels of tolerance and cohesion are more likely to see frequent adult play. Samuni and her team plan to investigate how play behavior compares across different chimpanzee populations to further understand its role in social dynamics.