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CJ Cregg
Commodore
Joined: 05 Oct 2002
Posts: 1254
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 Fri Sep 30, 2005 8:40 am Wild gorillas seen to use tools |
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| Quote: | Wild gorillas seen to use tools
Gorillas have been seen for the first time using simple tools to perform tasks in the wild, researchers say.
Scientists observed gorillas in a remote Congolese forest using sticks to test the depth of muddy water and to cross swampy areas.
Wild chimps and orangutans also use tools, suggesting that the origins of tool use may predate the evolutionary split between apes and humans.
Gorillas are endangered, with some populations numbered in the hundreds.
'Valuable insights'
"We've been observing gorillas for 10 years here, and we have two cases of them using detached objects as tools," said Thomas Breuer, from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), who heads the study team in Nouabal�-Ndoki National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"In the first case, we had a female crossing a pool; and this female has crossed this pool by using a detached stick and testing the water depth, and trying to use it as a walking stick," he told the BBC.
The second case saw another female gorilla pick up the trunk of a dead shrub and use it to lean on while dredging for food in a swamp.
She then placed the trunk down on the swampy ground and used it as a bridge.
"What's fascinating about these observations is the similarity between what these creatures have done, and what we do in the context of crossing a pond," observed Dr Breuer.
"The most astonishing thing is that we have observed them using tools not for obtaining food, but for postural support."
In the family
This discovery makes the gorilla the last of the great apes to be documented using tools in the wild.
Chimpanzees use stone tools to process food, and their close relatives bonobos will use the mashed ends of sticks to soak up liquids.
Orangutans - the only Asian great ape - use branches to forage for food, and leaves to modify their calls.
Though some monkeys and birds also use tools, Thomas Breuer believes that the great apes are special.
"We have now seen tool use in all the great apes in the wild," he said.
"That now makes us think that it might be the case that tool use has been an ancient trait of all great apes before the human lineage split away."
Current scientific orthodoxy holds that the separation between the chimpanzee and human lines came about six million years ago.
Research has shown that in captivity, apes can learn a range of skills including number and character recognition.
They can also learn tool use and transmit their acquired skills to other members of their social group.
The Congo team, drawn from the WCS and the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, believes that the tool traits they have observed in the wild may also be shared and learned across gorilla social groups.
They publish their findings in the online journal Public Library of Science Biology. |
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webtaz99
Commodore
Joined: 13 Nov 2003
Posts: 1229
Location: The Other Side
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| Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:35 am |
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Big deal. Even I use tools.
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"History is made at night! Character is who you are in the dark." (Lord John Whorfin)
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Captain Dappet
Forum Revolutionist
Joined: 06 Feb 2002
Posts: 16756
Location: On my supersonic rocket ship.
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| Sun Oct 09, 2005 7:19 am |
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Is the scientific definition of humanity to use tools or manufacture tools? Because it's something about tools, of that I'm sure. heheh
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Hitchhiker
Rear Admiral
Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 3514
Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Sun Oct 09, 2005 10:24 am |
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| Captain Dappet wrote: | | Is the scientific definition of humanity to use tools or manufacture tools? Because it's something about tools, of that I'm sure. heheh |
I thought being human required uh . . . well, you know . . . actually being human.  Perhaps you meant intelligence?
We know that apes are pretty intelligent. Almost as intelligent as humans, who are almost as intelligent as dolphins, who are almost as intelligent as mice. 
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webtaz99
Commodore
Joined: 13 Nov 2003
Posts: 1229
Location: The Other Side
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| Sun Oct 09, 2005 3:04 pm |
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| Captain Dappet wrote: | | Is the scientific definition of humanity to use tools or manufacture tools? Because it's something about tools, of that I'm sure. heheh |
The anthropologic definition of a "tool" means taking ordinary objects and using them for a specific purpose. It leaves a lot of gray area. Some say an otter is using tools becuase they find sharp-edged rocks to batter open seashells.
Others say a "tool" must be modified. Chimps are tool-users because they take a specially selected branch and strip the stems off it in order to fish for termites.
I follow the "modification" line. Lots of animals "use" objects to get things done. But only certain great apes actually modify objects to be better-suited to a task.
I'm not knocking gorillas, but I don't think using a walking stick qualifies.
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"History is made at night! Character is who you are in the dark." (Lord John Whorfin)
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Superman
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 06 Dec 2003
Posts: 10220
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| Sun Oct 09, 2005 5:34 pm |
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It scares me. These apes will be doing algebra next. They'll be learning how to use weapons. The world will be ruled by apes. Whatever city you live in, it's new name will be Ape City. 
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CJ Cregg
Commodore
Joined: 05 Oct 2002
Posts: 1254
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| Mon Oct 10, 2005 5:16 am |
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lol, they have much more to fear from us than we do of them. 
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webtaz99
Commodore
Joined: 13 Nov 2003
Posts: 1229
Location: The Other Side
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| Mon Oct 10, 2005 10:04 am |
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I wouldn't worry too much. Studies have shown that apes lose their higher mentality when exposed to treats like candy or a new toy (much like 2-year-olds). If confronted by seemingly intelligent apes, just toss them some M&Ms and run the other way.
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"History is made at night! Character is who you are in the dark." (Lord John Whorfin)
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