Chimpanzees: Smarter and Altruistic?

There is increasing evidence that chimpanzees are sometimes smarter than human beings.
The New York Times reports that only “a 1.23 percent difference in their genes separates Home sapiens from chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes.”
Of course it’s been known for some time that chimpanzees can make and use tools and hunt in groups. According to the Times, they seem to be capable of “empathy, altruism, self-awareness, cooperation in problem solving and learning through example and experience,”
Based on that, I would say it’s quite possible they would give more to the United Way than Cape May Countians.
And, says the Times, chimps can even “outperform humans in some memory tasks.”
These conclusions come from a symposium in March called “The Mind of the Chimpanzee.”
It included reports on laboratory experiences that showed the chimps’ “underlying intelligence,” or “cognitive reserve.”
A chimp, admittedly with “months of training accompanied by promised food rewards,” did much better than humans on a memory test — recalling and typing numbers flashed on a computer screen.
It makes sense to me that food rewards were the key. When Bokito, the 400-pound gorilla briefly tasted freedom May 18, escaping from the zoo in Rotterdam, where did he head? To the restaurant.
Your comments would be appreciated, but I am away for a couple days so they, and my further comments, will not be posted until Thursday, May 25.