Monday, October 03, 2005

Tool Use by Gorillas Confirmed

Until recently, tool use among wild apes was thought confined to chimps and orangutans. Now gorillas have been observed using detached limbs and tree trunks to support themselves and to test the depth of a pool (gorillas don't swim, but they will wade in pursuit of favorite foods). In a new paper, Thomas Brewer, et. al., reported one failrly sophisticated use this way:

"Efi detached a 1.3-m-long and 5-cm-thick leafless trunk of a dead shrub with both hands. She forcefully pushed it into the ground with both hands and held the tool for support with her left hand over her head for 2 min while dredging food with the other hand."


http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=index-html

It's not connected to this paper, but primatologist Rchard Carroll has also reported gorillas will brandish sticks at threatening leopards: Gorilla Tools


There is much we have yet to learn about our cousins, the primates.

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