Scientists Prove Apes Can Imagine and Play Pretend

A bonobo sat down for tea with scientists at Johns Hopkins University and changed what we know about animal minds forever.

Kanzi, a 43-year-old bonobo, participated in experiments that proved apes can use their imagination and play pretend. The researchers watched as Kanzi engaged with imaginary juice and invisible grapes, responding to verbal prompts by pointing to where pretend objects were located.

The study, published in the journal Science, marks the first controlled demonstration that animals can conceive of things that don't exist. Scientists had seen wild chimps carrying sticks like babies and suspected pretend play was possible, but they'd never proven it until now.

The experiments worked like a child's tea party. Researchers sat across from Kanzi with empty cups, pitchers, and bowls on a table between them. When an experimenter pretended to pour juice into one cup and dump out the other, then asked where the juice was, Kanzi pointed to the correct cup most of the time.

To make sure Kanzi understood the juice was imaginary, researchers placed a cup of real juice next to the pretend one. Kanzi pointed to the real juice almost every time when asked what he wanted. The pattern repeated with pretend grapes in jars, and Kanzi consistently tracked where the invisible objects were placed.

"It's extremely striking and very exciting that the data seem to suggest that apes, in their minds, can conceive of things that are not there," says co-author Amalia Bastos, a lecturer at Scotland's University of St Andrews. Kanzi could generate an idea of a pretend object while simultaneously knowing it wasn't real.

Why This Inspires

This discovery joins Jane Goodall's revelation that chimps make tools as a moment that reshapes how we understand other species. The capacity for imagination likely dates back nine million years, meaning this mental ability has deep evolutionary roots.

"Imagination has long been seen as a critical element of what it is to be human but the idea that it may not be exclusive to our species is really transformative," says co-author Christopher Krupenye. These findings challenge the assumption that animals live robotic lifestyles constrained to the present moment.

Instead, apes possess rich mental lives that extend beyond the here and now. They can think about things that don't exist, hold ideas in their minds, and distinguish between real and pretend.

The researchers plan to explore whether apes can imagine future events or think about what's going on in the minds of others. Each discovery reminds us that the creatures we share this planet with have beautiful, complex inner worlds worth protecting.