Gorillas play "tag" just like human children do, and for the same reason — to hone their competitive skills, European researchers say.

A behavioral study found apes, like humans, will hit a playmate and then run away to get the upper hand, ScienceDaily.com reported Wednesday.

"Our findings on gorilla play show important similarities with the children's game of tag," behavioral biologist Dr. Marina Davila Ross of the University of Portsmouth said.

"Not only did the gorillas in our study hit their playmates and then run away chased by their playmates, but they also switched their roles when hit so the chaser became the chased and vice versa."

"With that knowledge and our own study we can conclude that humans are not unique in their ability to change their behavior in social situations depending on whether they have the advantage or disadvantage in an unfair situation," she said.

Such unfair play behaviors are likely to be valuable, Ross said, because they allow apes — and humans — to test the limits of what is acceptable behavior and to test their peers and even their parents, ScienceDaily reported.

more of life

Malaysian police stumble upon illegal 'zoo' in car raid
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) July 14, 2010 –

Malaysian police stumbled upon a massive haul of endangered wildlife including a pair of valuable birds of paradise as they raided a warehouse in search of stolen cars, reports said Wednesday.

They found thousands of rare birds, leopard cats and albino pygmy monkeys, as well as domestic cats believed to be used to cross-breed with wild species to produce exotic offspring, the Star daily said.

The daily valued the pair of birds of paradise, prized for their skin and feathers and believed to bring good fortune, at 1.0 million ringgit (312,000 dollars).

More than 20 species of protected wildlife were found in the "mini zoo" hidden in the warehouse in the capital's suburbs, said Kuala Lumpur Wildlife Department deputy director Celescoriano Razond.

"We thank the police for rescuing the animals and will work closely with them to bring the criminals to justice," he said, according to the Star.

Police arrested two men in the raid, which also netted 42 stolen vehicles, but said they were believed to be merely workers, and they were still looking for the syndicate behind the operation.

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