Able vs Imo

Able was a rhesus macaque born at the Ralph Mitchell Zoo in Kansas who became one of the first primates to survive a spaceflight. On May 28, 1959, Able and a squirrel monkey named Miss Baker were launched into suborbital space aboard a Jupiter AM-18 rocket by the United States. The successful recovery of both animals provided crucial data on the biological effects of space travel. Unfortunately, A...

Imo was a female Japanese macaque living on the island of Kōjima, Japan, whose behavior became a foundational case study in cultural transmission among non-human animals. In 1953, primatologists observed her washing sweet potatoes in a river to remove sand before eating them, a technique she spontaneously invented. This novel behavior was subsequently adopted by other members of her troop, demonst...