Julie Started Chimpanzee Grass Fashion

The first chimpanzee to start the grass-in-ear trend documented at Zambia's Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage was a female named Julie. In 2010, she began placing a stiff blade of grass in one ear and leaving it there during other activities, despite the behavior having no apparent practical purpose. Researchers later observed 8 of the 12 chimpanzees in her group doing the same, while the behavior appeared only once among 82 chimpanzees in three neighboring groups. The researchers called it a group-specific arbitrary tradition, while popular coverage likened it to chimpanzee fashion.

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