Marina Davila Ross, a behavioral biologist at the University of Portsmouth in England, told LiveScience that “not only did the gorillas in our study hit their playmates and then run away chased by their playmates, but they also switched their roles when hit so the chaser became the chased and vice versa.”

It’s parallel to the human game of tag, she noted, and suggests that gorillas will try to gain the upper hand however possible.

The gorillas were seen “tagging” each other in a hit-and-run fashion. When a gorilla was hit hard, it chased after its playmate. Sometimes the games veered towards the unfair. According to the story, the gorilla who starts the game tries to get away with applying a tag and not getting hit back.

Scientists think the game helps gorillas stay competitive and it also helps to sharpen their communication skills. It teaches them how to deal with conflict based on the reactions of their playmates to their tags.

This is the first study to view this behavior by gorillas in a natural setting, but don’t expect them to steal all the glory of tag.

“I don’t think this is a gorilla-specific behavior — I think it’s very likely present in various species,” Davila Ross told LiveScience. “Chimpanzees and gibbons might also do it.”

Source via LiveScience

There is actually no reason of posting this other than to convince my fellow Northern friends who A. take my accent as a mishap, and B. Are clearly wrong:

IT’S CALLED TAG! FREAKING TAG! EVEN SCIENTISTS SAY SO! TAG! NOT TIG – TAG! GET IT THROUGH TO YOUR HEADS AND SPEECH! TAG! TAG! There is no meaning to ‘Tig’, it’s even a spelling mistake! ITS TAG!

Now to go play TAG, with some Apes.