Think dictionaries are just for homo sapiens?

Think again.

Researchers from St Andrews University have been hard at work creating a kind of ape dictionary. Orangutans at Durrell Wildlife Trust in Jersey have been the subjects of the research, and have apparently been very useful.

The senior keeper at Durrell, Gordon Hunt, told BBC Jersey the research had proved very helpful as it confirmed what they had already seen happening.

Gordon said: “We see anecdotal stuff every day but it is difficult for us to convince people that they are actually talking to each other.

“This is the start of the ape dictionary, what researchers do is confirm what is seen in a scientific manner.

“We see a lot of actions, a lot of gestures and we are anthropomorphising those into what we think they are
“Researchers are statistically analysing these and coming up with pretty much the same theory.” (Source: BBC News)

You may soon be seeing a new OED (Orangutan English Dictionary) next to the original (Oxford English Dictionary)!