Orangutans use mime to make themselves understood  Videos show
apes released back into the wild make mimicking gestures to
convey information or as a trick Miming orangutans is a rare
phenomenon but scientists have evidence of it on film.
Photograph: Oliver Lang/AFP/Getty Images  Orangutans use mime to
help make themselves understood, according to video recordings
of the apes in the wild.  Footage of rehabilitated orangutans
released into a Borneo forest show the apes mimicking actions
such as cracking open termite mounds, washing themselves and
using a leaf to clean a wounded foot.  The study suggests they
are capable of more complex communication than previously
thought, and resort to mimes to elaborate on messages directed
at other apes and their former keepers.  In some recordings,
orangutans used gestures to distract or mislead others. One
animal indicated to researchers that it wanted a haircut, as a
ruse to divert their attention while it stole something,
according to the study. Another tried to use a