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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Design complexity in termite-fishing tools of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Biology Letters, Volume 5, No. 3, Year 2009
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Description
Adopting the approach taken with New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides), we present evidence of design complexity in one of the termite-fishing tools of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the Goualougo Triangle, Republic of Congo. Prior to termite fishing, chimpanzees applied a set of deliberate, distinguishable actions to modify herb stems to fashion a brush-tipped probe, which is different from the form of fishing tools used by chimpanzees in East and West Africa. This means that 'brush-tipped fishing probes', unlike 'brush sticks', are not a by-product of use but a deliberate design feature absent in other chimpanzee populations. The specialized modifications to prepare the tool for termite fishing, measures taken to repair non-functional brushes and appropriate orientation of the modified end suggest that these wild chimpanzees are attentive to tool modifications. We also conducted experimental trials that showed that a brush-tipped probe is more effective in gathering insects than an unmodified fishing probe. Based on these findings, we suggest that chimpanzees in the Congo Basin have developed an improved fishing probe design. © 2009 The Royal Society.
Authors & Co-Authors
Sanz, Crickette M.
Germany, Leipzig
Max-planck-institut Für Evolutionäre Anthropologie
Call, Josep
Germany, Leipzig
Max-planck-institut Für Evolutionäre Anthropologie
Morgan, David B.
United States, Chicago
Lincoln Park Zoo
Congo, Brazzaville
Wildlife Conservation Society
Statistics
Citations: 196
Authors: 3
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1098/rsbl.2008.0786
ISSN:
17449561
e-ISSN:
1744957X
Study Locations
Multi-countries
Congo