Is the chimps domesticating penguins story real? Viral claim debunked

A photo of two chimps carrying a group of penguins in their arms recently went viral online. Posted by the Facebook page StoryTime on October 7, the post claimed the primates have attempted to “domesticate” the penguins in the "Kango Basin". As stated in the caption:

"In a bizarre twist of nature, researchers in the Congo Basin have documented a troop of chimpanzees seemingly trying to domesticate a group of penguins. Photographs show chimps leaving the shoreline with penguins clutched in their arms, while game trail cameras later capture the same chimps arriving back at their forested home, still carrying the birds."

According to the post, the chimpanzees have relocated more than 30 penguins so far. The caption continued:

"To the surprise of scientists, none appear distressed. In fact, the penguins are being fed fruit, groomed, and even petted by their new hosts."

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StoryTime claimed the young primates were seen "chasing down any strays and escorting them back to the group, almost like shepherds in training." One researcher purportedly asserted:

"All 30 penguins are accounted for, and the troop seems intent on keeping them together. It’s unlike anything we've ever seen."

Per StoryTime's post, experts are now closely surveilling the chimpanzees and the penguins.

However, as amusing as chimpanzees petting penguins sounds, this is a fake post. StoryTime's bio on Facebook noted with a hint of vagueness:

"story (noun) - an account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment"

The post also has inconsistent information. At first, StoryTime claimed the chimps and penguins were spotted in the "Kango Basin", a place that does not exist, and is likely a misspelling of the Congo Basin.

Moreover, had researchers actually spotted any chimpanzees carrying a group of penguins to the forest, there would have been credible reports on it.

Viral story about chimps domesticating penguins is not real

Hal Herzog, a noted anthrozoologist and a professor of psychology at Western Carolina University, shared his insights about the behavior of pet-keeping in the animal kingdom in a Psychology Today article published in June:

"I recently scoured academic journals and consulted a host of animal behaviorists for examples of pet-keeping in other species in the wild. I found none."

Referring to primates, Herzog said:

"There are a few articles in primatology journals that describe instances in which wild chimpanzees "played" with small animals like hyraxes. But in each case, the relationship soon went south when the chimps killed their new pals and proceeded to toss their corpses around like rag dolls."

Hal Herzog further quoted social psychologist Dan Gilbert's findings in the book Stumbling On Happiness:

"The human being is the only animal that keeps members of other species for extended periods of time purely for enjoyment."

Therefore, no recorded document has a concrete inference about chimps keeping pets. StoryTime's viral claim about the chimpanzees and penguins is fabricated for the sole purpose of entertainment. The image is likely doctored using Photoshop.

The date at the bottom of the photo, "10/31/17", also appears to be inaccurate and non-existent. If it is in the 'DD/MM/YY' format, then it would nullify the date, as there are only twelve existing months.

If it is in the 'MM/DD/YY' format, then it would make the story nearly eight years old. But there are no existing records from 2017 that documented one such event. Thus, this viral story can be concluded as fake.