Among chimpanzees, thrill-seeking peaks in toddlerhood

Toddlers are the daredevils of the chimp world.

Chimps ages 2 to 5 are more likely than older chimps to free-fall from tree limbs in the forest canopies or leap wildly from branch to branch, researchers report January 7 in iScience. Past age 5, those dangerous canopy behaviors decrease by roughly 3 percent each year.

Among humans, teens are the real daredevils. They are, for instance, more likely than other children to break bones and die from injuries. But human toddlers might behave as recklessly as chimp toddlers were it not for parents and caregivers putting the kibosh on all the fun — and broken bones, says biologist Lauren

→ Continue reading at Science News

More from author

Related posts

Advertisment

Latest posts

Malaysia, Indonesia become first to block Musk’s Grok over AI deepfakes

FILE - Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a news...

‘ScreenTime’ podcast asks what screens are doing to kids

Andrew Bracken, a journalist at KPBS, on how how his experiences as a parent with technology led to a new podcast. Sponsor...

Want to Stop Doomscrolling? You Might Need a Sleep Coach

Margaret Thatcher, who was known for sleeping only four hours a night, is often credited with saying “Sleep is for wimps!” But sleep is...