Bonobo apes found to make sounds like human babies

Human babies may not be the only species in the animal kingdom to babble.

According to a new study, bonobos, which are humans' closest primate relatives, communicate through high-pitched sounds that resemble the squeals of infants before they can form words.

Peeps are what the researchers have named these calls which tend to be made with closed mouths in short bursts.

Bonobos are recognized as the first animals besides humans to utter these sounds. They can be applied to a variety of situations and emotions, giving them functional flexibility over fixed expressions, like crying when upset or laughing when happy.

However, a practical component does seem to be involved, as the noises were noticeably different in acoustics between negative situations and positive or neutral ones.

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The team believes these sounds could be one phase of an evolutionary shift from contextually specific utterances to the broader language humans use.

The research findings were based on observations of approximately 39 wild bonobos in their native Congo.

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