Chimpanzee Memory Beats Human's

On February 16, 2013, in an article titled, “Chimpanzee Memory Study Suggests Apes’ Short Term Recall Better Than Humans” from The Huffington Post, Douglas Main publicized about an interesting observation discovery on chimpanzees. While testing the remarkable abilities of a chimpanzee, researchers found out that they can be smarter than humans, at least regarding short-term memories. During a test, the numbers one through nine appeared randomly on a screen and then disappeared. The chimpanzee was able to recall the exact sequence and location of each number. This chimpanzee has also learnt numbers one through nineteen and is able to touch each number in ascending order. Comparing this amazing ability with that of humans, only a selected few have such abilities, and those are people with savant syndrome. That syndrome is accompanied by severe mental disabilities that allow a person to show unique abilities that are beyond ordinary human powers. However, six out of six chimpanzees tested were able to rapidly complete the challenge. It is important to note that this incredible short-term memory helps chimpanzees survive in the wild, where they make complex decisions regarding their food supply and survival. It helps the animals navigate the branches of huge trees to feed and also to decide what to do when competing animals are threatening to one another. When a Japanese researcher, named Tetsuro Matsuzawa, showed this video to a number of journalists and scientists, he stated, “Don’t worry nobody can do it. It’s impossible for you” (The Huffington Post).