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[Dave Monroe <monroe AT mpm.edu>]

Sent: Wednesday, July 25, 2001 6:08 AM
Subject: Mirror experiment at zoo brings truce between warring chimps


A feud between two chimpanzees at an Indian zoo has been ended after
zookeepers placed mirrors in their cage.

Lucknow Zoo's Sunny and Cheena stopped fighting last week after two
mirrors
were hung in the cage they share.

It took the zoo officials some time to realise that chimpanzees, like
humans, are narcissistic and hate to be lonely.

"This has not only put an end to a 'gorilla' war, but we hope it would
also help them start mating," said B Prabhakar, director of the Prince
of  Wales Zoological Gardens in the northern Indian city of Lucknow.

"Now they are either busy appreciating themselves, or trying to
communicate
with their mirror images," Mr Prabhakar said Wednesday.

"They had nothing to do. So they would fight," Mr Prabhakar said.

Cheena's refusal to mate with her male cellmate aggravated the
situation.

"Sunny tried every possible stunt and trick but failed and the
frustration only grew," Mr Prabhakar said.

Now Cheena and Sunny have not only stopped fighting, they have started
eating together, said their caretaker, Balaram, who uses only one name.

"We noticed that their food intake increased considerably and they
remain chirpy throughout the day," Balaram said.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_359690.html