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Some chimpanzees(黑猩猩)are much wilder when it comes to making beats, scientists have discovered. In a Ugandan rainforest, the chimps have developed their own drumming(击鼓)styles on tree roots. Researchers observed their drumming styles range from rock to jazz. One chimpanzee brought back the style of the late John Bonham, a drummer who played a piece of music, Whole Lotta Love, and is ranked as one of the best. "The chimpanzee makes very fast drums with many evenly separated beats. His drumming is so fast that you can hardly see his hands." said Catherine, leading scientist of the study.
Drumming with feet and hands with their special calls is used to exchange messages through thick forests, even with miles between them. Ben the Alpha's call was a close two quick beats and a distant third, sometimes fourth.
Catherine also said. "We could often recognize which chimpanzee was drumming, and it was a fantastic way to find the different ones we were looking for. So if we could recognize, we were sure they could."
The team was surprised to note the chimpanzees only used their personalized drumming styles when on the move, showing that the chimpanzees could decide whether to be recognized or not. The research could also settle a problem about why these chimpanzees greet each other when they meet but are not observed to say goodbye when they part in the forest. "The chimpanzees don't need to say goodbye because they're effectively able to keep in touch." Catherine said. These long-distance signals give the chimpanzees a way to recognize with each other.
The researchers' next study will be to explore whether different drumming styles can lead to different drumming cultures among the different chimpanzee populations.
