Now, a new study suggests that bipedalism likely emerged as primates navigated woodland trees in search of food, standing on hind legs and balancing with branches to reach the best seeds and fruits. To get a better understanding of what may have taken place six to seven million years ago, scientists studied a population of chimpanzees in Issa Valley along Lake Tanganykia in western Tanzania. They found that chimpanzees often adopted bipedalism to effectively feed on the sparse woodland trees. They also used specialized techniques—such as standing on branches—to reach highly prized food in the tree’s large, open crown. For instance, these conclusions only apply to the Issa Valley chimpanzees (so more data would be needed to apply this idea to chimps more broadly), and the feeding patterns were only analyzed during the dry season.