Could the spark of imagination, the very essence of what makes us human, be present in our closest ape relatives? For ages, we've believed that the ability to "make believe" – to conjure worlds that don't exist, to play pretend – was a uniquely human trait. This capacity, which starts with imaginary friends and games of make-believe in childhood, blossoms into our adult ability to daydream, plan vacations, invent recipes, and even empathize by stepping into another's shoes. It's a cornerstone of our complex mental lives.
But here's where it gets fascinatingly controversial: a series of meticulously designed "tea parties" with a remarkable bonobo named Kanzi might be challenging this long-held belief. Kanzi, whose name means "treasure" in Swahili, was an extraordinary individual. Born in 1980 and sadly passing in 2025 at the age of 44, he had a particular fondness for onions and the game of chase. What truly set him apart, however, was his exceptional ability to communicate with humans using symbols and his impressive grasp of English. He could even respond to questions by pointing, a behavior not typically observed in apes.
This unique skill allowed cognitive scientists Chris Krupenye and Amalia Bastos to conduct a groundbreaking study, published in the prestigious journal Science. For the first time in a controlled experiment, they aimed to definitively test whether apes possess the cognitive capacity for pretense and imagination. Drawing inspiration from developmental psychology studies with children from the 1980s, they recreated a "pretend tea party" scenario.
Imagine this: two empty, transparent cups sit on a table. Researchers would then take an empty pitcher and mime pouring "juice" into both cups. Next, they'd pick up one cup and pretend to pour the imaginary liquid back into the pitcher. Now, only one cup holds the "imaginary juice." The question posed to Kanzi was simple, yet profound: "Where's the juice?"
And this is the part most people miss: Kanzi, with astonishing accuracy, pointed to the correct cup approximately 70% of the time. This wasn't just a learned response; it demonstrated an ability to mentally track an object that wasn't physically present – a key indicator of imaginative capacity.
For decades, scientists have observed apes exhibiting behaviors that look like pretend play. Young chimpanzees, for instance, have been seen treating sticks like babies. However, interpreting these actions as genuine pretense has always been challenging. This new study, however, suggests that apes, or at least Kanzi, can do more than just mimic play. As Kristin Andrews, a philosophy professor specializing in animal cognition, notes, Kanzi's actions point to "pretense and imagination, which takes it to another step."
Pretense and imagination, in essence, is the mental power to hold onto a version of reality that isn't real, while actively engaging with it as if it were. This is an incredibly valuable cognitive skill, enabling individuals to mentally explore various scenarios before making decisions. It helps them, as Andrews puts it, "make choices."
While it remains difficult to definitively say if bonobos and chimpanzees are actively engaging in such complex imaginative play in the wild, the study with Kanzi strongly indicates that great apes possess the capacity to hold these alternative mental representations. And who's to say this capacity isn't present in other animals as well?
What do you think? Does Kanzi's ability to "pretend" change your view of animal intelligence? Share your thoughts in the comments below – do you agree that imagination might not be exclusively human?
