This chimp will kick your ass at memory games — but how the hell does he do it?

This is Ayumu, he's an 11-year-old chimpanzee who lives and trains at Kyoto University's Primate Research Institute. In his time there, Ayumu has come to excel at an incredibly difficult — albeit very straightforward — memorization game. If you challenge him to this game, you will lose.

Allow me to be perfectly clear: there is absolutely zero chance of you besting Ayumu; he will positively destroy you, and he will do it with ease. But how does he do it?


There's a good chance you've heard of Ayumu before. Back in 2007, the media ran wild with news of his incredible feats of memory, with headlines like "are you smarter than a chimp?"