« Pray for a Miracle
Main
What to do in Iraq: Pullout, "Stay the Course" or the Right Thing »
September 29, 2005
Wild Gorillas Seen Using Tools
Newscientist.com reports that conservation workers have seen the first indication of tool use among gorillas.
One instance, caught on film in the Republic of Congo’s Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, involved a lowland gorilla using a metre-long stick to test the depth of water ahead of her as she cautiously waded into a swampy pool.In contrast, most examples of tool use in great apes are related to food extraction and preparation. Researchers argue that this new type of tool use may be more widespread, and could hint at abstract reasoning.
Captive gorillas have been observed throwing objects and using sticks to extract food, but gorillas were the only great ape never seen using similar objects in the wild. Chimps frequently use twigs as dipping sticks to gather termites and rocks as hammers to crush nuts.
I'm not sure that Bonobo's have been observed using tools in the wild but Common Chimps and Orangutans sure have. And Captive bonobos use tools skillfully. So it looks like all the great apes, Gorilla gorilla, Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus, Pongo pongo, and Homo sapiens all use tools. Some are better at it than others. But that's true within species also.
Posted by Duane Smith at September 29, 2005 8:58 PM | Read more on Paleoanthropology |
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.telecomtally.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1381
Comments
Sorry, comments are closed for this post.
Send me an email if it is important.