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Research Shows Bonobo Can Engage in Pretend Play

February 2026 — A groundbreaking study published in the journal Science has revealed that a bonobo named Kanzi is capable of participating in pretend play, much like human toddlers who host imaginary tea parties.

The Famous Kanzi

Kanzi is a remarkable 43-year-old bonobo living at the Ape Initiative in the United States. Unlike most apes, Kanzi has been raised in close contact with humans. He can understand spoken English and communicates using a lexigram system containing more than 300 symbols.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University designed a series of experiments to test whether Kanzi could truly imagine things that don’t exist.

Three Clever Experiments

In the first experiment, scientists placed two empty transparent cups on a table. They pretended to pour juice from an empty pitcher into one cup, then pretended to pour the “juice” back into the pitcher. When asked “Where is the juice?”, Kanzi chose the correct cup 68 percent of the time.

The second experiment tested whether Kanzi understood the difference between real and imaginary juice. This time, one cup contained actual juice. Kanzi selected the real juice nearly 78 percent of the time, proving he knew which was pretend and which was real.

A third experiment used imaginary grapes instead of juice, and Kanzi again performed well above random chance.

What This Means for Science

For many years, scientists believed imagination was a uniquely human trait. The ability to think about things that don’t exist—called “secondary representation”—was thought to separate humans from other animals.

“Imagination has long been seen as a critical element of what it is to be human,” said researcher Christopher Krupenye. “But the idea that it may not be exclusive to our species is really transformative.”

The discovery invites us to reconsider what makes humans special and what mental abilities exist in other creatures.

Vocabulary Help

• groundbreaking = very new and important; innovative
• pretend play = acting as if imaginary things are real
• lexigram = a symbol that represents a word
• secondary representation = the ability to hold two ideas (real and imaginary) in mind at once
• uniquely = only belonging to one person or thing

Grammar Focus

• Present perfect: “Research has revealed that a bonobo is capable of pretend play.”
• Relative clauses: “Kanzi is a bonobo who can understand spoken English.”
• Passive voice: “Imagination was thought to separate humans from other animals.”