Poop-Throwing a Sign of Intelligence in Chimps

The better the poop-thrower, the better the communicator.

Chimpanzees are the most closely related species to us humans. Some of them also have preponderance for throwing feces. And now, new research suggests that chimps who throw their poop, either at each other or visitors at the zoo, have more developed brains than those chimps who do not. To determine this, Bill Hopkins and a team of researchers at Emory University figured out which chimps threw their poop the most often, then wired their brains up to sensors. Via PhysOrg:

Surprisingly, they found that chimps that both threw more and were more likely to hit their targets showed heightened development in the motor cortex, and more connections between it and the Broca’s area, which they say is an important part of speech in humans. The better chimp throwers, in other words, had more highly developed left brain hemispheres, which is also, non-coincidently, where speech processing occurs in people.

... [T]he team tested the chimps and found that those that could throw better also appeared to be better communicators within their group, giving credence to their idea that speech and throwing are related.

As such, Hopkins believes chimps throw poop as a means of expressing themselves to other chimps. So, that chimp that's trying to throw a little monkey patty at your toddler? He might just be trying to say hello. Or to get the hell away from his property. We're not sure, really, but the chimp IS communicating.