Chimpanzee moms play with their kids — even when they're hungry and tired

As It Happens6:45Chimpanzee moms play with their kids — even when they’re hungry and tired

Even when times are tough, chimpanzee mothers will carve out time to play with their kids, new research has found.

Scientists observing chimps at the Kibale National Park in Uganda found that when food is scarce, most adult chimps put playtime on the back burner so they can focus, instead, on survival. 

But mothers, it turns out, prioritize play in good times and bad.

“I think what it tells us about chimps is that this kind of behaviour, this play behaviour, is so developmentally important in the lives of those