Short Wave

Tea time... with an ape?

February 17, 2026

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  • Scientists used pretend tea parties, mirroring methods for studying human children, to test the limits of imagination in Kanzi, a bonobo. 
  • Kanzi demonstrated the ability to imagine scenarios not present in reality, specifically by correctly identifying the location of imaginary juice about 70% of the time after a pretend pouring action. 
  • The findings suggest that the roots of imagination, the capacity to mentally depart from the here and now, were likely present millions of years ago in the common ancestors shared with bonobos. 

Segments

Introducing Kanzi the Bonobo
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(00:00:20)
  • Key Takeaway: Kanzi, a bonobo who died last year at age 44, was famous for communicating with humans using symbols and comprehending English.
  • Summary: Science correspondent Nate Rott introduces Kanzi, a bonobo known for his remarkable communication skills. A 1993 study showed that at age eight, Kanzi outperformed a two-year-old human in following over 600 spoken instructions. His ability to respond, including through pointing, made him an ideal subject for cognitive experiments.
Imagination and Pretend Play
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(00:02:05)
  • Key Takeaway: Imagination allows humans to mentally depart from the present to consider other worlds, times, and pretend scenarios, which is key to decision-making.
  • Summary: Imagination is considered fundamentally human, enabling us to think about the past, future, and entertain imaginary scenarios. This cognitive ability is crucial for adults when making decisions, such as imagining the consequences of an action before acting. Philosophers like Kristen Andrews note that forming hypotheses in science is also an exact definition of imagination.
Testing Ape Imagination
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(00:04:09)
  • Key Takeaway: Scientists replicated 1980s studies on human children’s imagination by using pretend tea parties to test Kanzi’s comprehension of imaginary objects.
  • Summary: Cognitive scientist Chris Krupenye and his co-author Amalia Bastos adapted experiments used on human children, who play house or have imaginary friends, to test Kanzi. The setup involved an experimenter pretending to pour imaginary juice into cups and then asking Kanzi where the imaginary juice remained. Kanzi successfully identified the cup containing the imaginary juice about 70% of the time.
Implications of Kanzi’s Results
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(00:09:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Kanzi’s success in the imagination test suggests that the roots of this cognitive capacity existed millions of years ago in the common ancestors shared with bonobos.
  • Summary: Kanzi’s performance indicates he could mentally entertain two realities simultaneously: the empty cups he saw and the imaginary juice he imagined. This feat suggests that the capacity for imagination is not unique to humans and likely predates the split between humans and bonobos. While the study was on one individual, it serves as a clear demonstration that this capacity exists outside of humans.
Future Research and Play
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(00:10:42)
  • Key Takeaway: Decades of observation suggest other apes engage in pretend play, but controlled experiments are needed to confirm this capacity across the species.
  • Summary: Researchers have observed behaviors in various ape species, like young chimpanzees treating sticks like dolls, that look like pretend play. While this suggests imagination might be abundant in apes, more controlled experiments are necessary to confirm this capacity broadly across the species. Chris Krupenye intends to continue this line of research with other apes in the future.