Teenagers are well known doing crazy things. It seems that once a child becomes a teen, they take a lot more risks. Some of these are dangerous and lead to injury, or worse. A new study young chimpanzees may explain risky behaviour children. The study is researchers at the University of Michigan the USA. They studied 100 wild chimpanzees in a national park Uganda. The chimps ranged in age from 2 to 65 years. The researchers looked at how the animals swung trees. The youngest chimps seemed to do more dangerous things, letting go branches and letting themselves fall. Older chimps took fewer risks and made sure they gripped branches firmly.
Lead researcher and anthropologist Laura MacLatchy suggested why children and young chimpanzees take more risks. She believes it is because they are an age when parents supervise them less. Parents and carers often stop very young children doing things that might cause injuries. However, young teens have more freedom and want to try new and risky things. Professor MacLatchy said the risk-taking was the same male and female chimps and humans. The website ScienceAlert said that "some anthropologists argue increasing children's access to thrill-seeking play, including the old-fashioned monkey bars, as a way to help them develop motor skills and skeletal strength".
