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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
First observation of tool use in wild gorillas
PLoS Biology, Volume 3, No. 11, Article e380, Year 2005
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Description
Descriptions of novel tool use by great apes in response to different circumstances aids us in understanding the factors favoring the evolution of tool use in humans. This paper documents what we believe to be the first two observations of tool use in wild western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla). We first observed an adult female gorilla using a branch as a walking stick to test water deepness and to aid in her attempt to cross a pool of water at Mbeli Bai, a swampy forest clearing in northern Congo. In the second case we saw another adult female using a detached trunk from a small shrub as a stabilizer during food processing. She then used the trunk as a self-made bridge to cross a deep patch of swamp. In contrast to information from other great apes, which mostly show tool use in the context of food extraction, our observations show that in gorillas other factors such as habitat type can stimulate the use of tools. © 2005 Breuer et al.
Authors & Co-Authors
Breuer, Thomas
Congo
Mbeli Bai Study
Germany, Leipzig
Max-planck-institut Für Evolutionäre Anthropologie
Ndoundou-Hockemba, Mireille
Congo
Mbeli Bai Study
Fishlock, Vicki L.
Congo
Mbeli Bai Study
Statistics
Citations: 204
Authors: 3
Affiliations: 2
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1371/journal.pbio.0030380
ISSN:
15449173
e-ISSN:
15457885
Research Areas
Environmental
Food Security
Infectious Diseases
Study Locations
Congo
Participants Gender
Female