Hi all! Calvin here. Spending time with JJ, you start to wonder just how much is going on behind those intelligent eyes. We’re always learning more about chimpanzee cognition and it’s fascinating. One of the ways we try to understand their thinking is through cognitive testing, sometimes called “IQ tests” for chimps. These aren’t exactly like human IQ tests, but they help us measure things like problem-solving ability, memory, and how well they understand concepts. We might present them with puzzles to solve to get a treat or ask them to remember symbols or patterns. It’s amazing to see how they approach these challenges. Most chimps here do pretty well on these tests, showing impressive cognitive abilities. But then there’s JJ. He just seems to… get it. He masters the tasks quickly, sometimes even figuring out shortcuts or new ways to solve problems that we didn’t anticipate. It’s like he’s thinking on a different level. He seems to grasp the underlying principles more readily than the other chimps. It makes you wonder if there’s something more to his intelligence, something beyond what our current tests can even measure. He’s definitely a special chimp, and he makes you think about just how much we still have to learn about the minds of these amazing primates.
— Calvin Poe