Of course, it is not "natural" behaviour for a chimp to interact with a computer screen, but scientists suggest this type of task could be good for captive apes.
"Unfortunately, captive great apes often exhibit behavioural signs of boredom, frustration and stress," says Fay Clark from the Royal Veterinary College's Centre for Animal Welfare.
Note: When primates are kept in cages it easy to force them to perform tasks which make them appear intelligent or possessed of some ability to think, but it is when they are put back into their natural environment that their real nature, unrestrained by social forces, reveals itself. The same is true of different races, who are conditioned by the white world to behave in certain ways and exhibit preferred behaviors, but revert to type when thrown back together.
