Does it mean the same thing to them as it does to us if mischievous irreverance?
Do they give each other the finger ever?
I’m pretty sure giving the finger is entirely cultural. If you met a human from a group with no contact with the rest of the world, I don’t think the middle finger would mean anything to them, unless they infer something from your attitude and context.
They don’t wear clothes, “mooning” doesn’t work like that.
You’re talking about cultural symbols that we’ve developed in relatively recent history. Their meaning is not inherent but has to be taught. Thinking other great apes would understand a raised middle finger as meaning anything, let alone an insult, is anthropomorphising them. A grin doesn’t even mean the same to them as it does to humans.
Throwing feces does tho, right?
Humans generally do not throw feces at each other. It’s not a cultural symbol to us. However, we can (probably) understand/correctly interpret what other great apes are trying to say when they do it because feces are something we all (as living beings) instinctively want to avoid.
Edit: do they even do it outside captivity?
