At a ‘Tea Party’ With Scientists, This Ape Showed Some Imagination

At a ‘Tea Party’ With Scientists, This Ape Showed Some Imagination: In a playtime experiment, researchers found that our closest living relatives have the capacity for make-believe, too. By Alexa Robles-Gil Feb. 5, 2026 Having an imaginary friend, playing house or daydreaming about the future were long considered uniquely human abilities. Now, scientists have conducted the first study indicating that apes have the ability to play pretend