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Chimp gestures follow same laws as human language
An infant chimpanzee using the 'reach' gesture during play.

Two human linguistic laws observed in wild chimpanzees

Chimpanzee gestures follow the same linguistic laws that are seen in human language, research has shown for the first time.

Researchers from the University of Roehampton studied videos of gestures made by wild chimpanzees living in the Budongo Forest Reserve in Uganda. They looked at more than 2,000 gestures, of 58 different types, that were made during play.

The most frequently used gestures were found to be shorter in duration. In longer sequences, the average gesture duration was also shorter.

This follows two linguistic laws seen in human language - Zipf’s laws of abbreviation, which predicts that more commonly used words tend to be shorter; and Menzerath’s law, which predicts that longer words are made up of shorter syllables.

These laws are known to exist in many human languages but had not previously been explored in gestural communications between animals.

The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, suggest chimpanzee gestures may be more similar to our own language than previously thought.

Lead author, Raphaela Heesen, said: “Primate gestural communication is, of course, very different to human language, but our results show that these two systems are underpinned by the same mathematical principles. We hope that our work will pave the way for similar studies, to see quite how widespread these laws might be across the animal kingdom.”

Image © Dr Catherine Hobaiter
 

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Birmingham Dogs Home makes urgent appeal

News Story 1
 Birmingham Dogs Home has issued an urgent winter appeal as it faces more challenges over the Christmas period.

The rescue centre has seen a dramatic increase in dogs coming into its care, and is currently caring for over 200 dogs. With rising costs and dropping temperatures, the charity is calling for urgent support.

It costs the charity £6,000 per day to continue its work.

Fi Harrison, head of fundraising and communications, said: "It's heart-breaking for our team to see the conditions some dogs arrive in. We really are their last chance and hope of survival."

More information about the appeal can be found here

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Avian flu confirmed at premises in Cornwall

A case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 has been detected in commercial poultry at a premises near Rosudgeon, Cornwall.

All poultry on the infected site will be humanely culled, and a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone have been put in place. Poultry and other captive birds in the 3km protection zone must be housed.

The case is the second avian flu case confirmed in commercial poultry this month. The H5N5 strain was detected in a premises near Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, in early November. Before then, the disease had not been confirmed in captive birds in England since February.

The UK chief veterinary officer has urged bird keepers to remain alert and practise robust biosecurity.

A map of the disease control zones can be found here.