Chimpanzees use tools to hunt prey
Chimpanzees 'habitually' use tools for hunting
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Friday, 23, Feb 2007 09:44
Chimpanzees are capable of creating and using tools to help them hunt their prey, scientists have found.
Although previous studies have discovered that the animals are capable of using tools in some tasks, such as bashing open hard nuts, there has been only slight evidence that they are capable of using tools for hunting.
In this latest study, researchers at the University of Cambridge and Iowa State University observed the Fongoli community of savannah-dwelling chimpanzees in south-eastern Senegal making spear-like tools.
The animals then used the tools in a jabbing motion to obtain lesser bushbabies from cavities in hollow branches or tree trunks.
Just one attempt out of the 22 observed was successful, but the researchers noted that the making of the tools and hunting behaviour was systematic and consistent, suggesting that it was routine for the chimpanzees.
This habitual use of tools for hunting is the first to be recorded by scientists. The study also found that females and immature chimps were the most likely to make and use hunting tools.
"The combination of hunting and tool use at Fongoli, behaviours long considered hallmarks of our own species, makes this population especially intriguing," the researchers write in the journal Current Biology.
"The observation that individuals hunting with tools include females and immature chimpanzees suggests that we should rethink traditional explanations for the evolution of such behaviour in our own lineage.
"Learning more about the unique behaviours of chimpanzees in such an environment, before they disappear, can provide important clues about the challenges facing our earliest ancestors," the researchers conclude.