While Teco is waiting in the car for Heather to bring him some yogurt, he learns to honk the car horn with his feet. Watching the video closely, you can see Teco, like any other normal two-year old, is exploring his physical world. He watches anxiously to see where they are driving. When Heather parks and leaves the car, he plays with the car keys, he jumps on the car steering wheel and accidentally honks the horn.
When Sue encourages him that he’s done something “cool – you did a good honk,” he manages to replicate the feat after a couple of tries and one fall. Heather returns to the car with some yogurt, and Teco happily squeaks and eats it as they drive away.
Teco is two years old and lives at Bonobo Hope in the Great Ape Trust with his family of six other Bonobos – Kanzi, Matata, Elikya, Maisha, Panbanisha, and Nyota. The bonobos are a rare and endangered species that are the subject of many studies about language and learning.