Orangutans could hold the key to how humans learned to speak

The primates can 'talk' using a complex range of calls that involve both vowel sounds and consonants, but some of the animals can only make the former as their jaws lack flexibility.

Scientists have argued that orangutans lived up in the trees and had to use their mouths to reach hard-to-get fruits and nuts. Consonant sounds from humans rely on the tongue, lips, and teeth.

The evidence suggests that living in trees was a pre-adaptation for the evolution of speech and gives clues about the lifestyle of our human ancestors.

Professor Adriano Lameira, a primatologist at Warwick University, said: "Wild orangutans use consonant-like calls consistently and for multiple behaviours, much like we do with speech.

"Their vocal repertoire is a rich display of clicks, kiss sounds, smacking, splutters, and raspberries."

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