DW: Would we call them Gen C?
At a Zambia sanctuary, scientists noticed a strange fad: several chimps stuck blades of grass into their ear holes and butts, and then strolled around showing them off. Neighboring chimp groups, living in the same conditions, never picked up the habit. Tracking videos over time, researchers found the quirky trend spread socially, much like people copying eyebrow slits or funky hair dye.
Caretakers in the chimps’ enclosure sometimes clean their own ears with grass, hinting the apes may have first copied humans, then each other. While the grass serves no clear purpose, the study suggests chimpanzees can adopt “pointless” styles just to fit in, offering fresh clues about how culture, and maybe even fashion, gets started in animals and humans alike.
Source: Phys.org