Chimpanzees and humans last shared a common ancestor about 6 million years ago. We've both come a long way since, and it's not scientifically fair to hear in chimpanzees an echo of our own voice, or vice versa. But it's hard not to.
The sheer richness of chimpanzee vocalizations, and the extraordinary variety of uses to which they're put by that highly social primate, are a living reminder that our closest relative likes to talk. A lot.
To give a sense of what chimpanzees sound like, Wired Science invited the help of Smokey Cloud and Chuck Michael at 20th Century Fox, who designed the sounds used in last summer's blockbuster Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The chimpanzee vocalizations used in that movie were tweaked versions of recordings made at Chimp Haven, the sanctuary outside Shreveport, Louisiana.
To hear them, play the samples at right.
Images: 1) Brandon Keim/Wired.com 2) 20th Century Fox
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