Tool sharing in wild chimpanzees

Researchers examine tool-sharing behaviors in wild chimpanzee populations. The social underpinnings of tool development in early human evolution are unclear, but understanding related behaviors in chimpanzees may provide insight. Stephanie Musgrave and colleagues compared how wild chimpanzees in the Goualougo Triangle, Republic of Congo, versus those in Gombe, Tanzania, transferred tools to each other during termite gathering. The tool transfers have been previously shown to function as a form of teaching among Goualougo chimpanzees. Chimpanzees in both populations used fishing-probe-style tools, and Goualougo chimpanzees also used different types of tools sequentially, which the apes made from certain plant species. Goualougo chimpanzees also improved the design of fishing probes. Compared with Gombe, where tool requests were usually refused, at Goualougo there was a higher probability of tool transfer following an individual’s request for a tool. Chimpanzee mothers at Goualougo were 3 times more likely than mothers at Gombe to transfer tools to offspring. Female and juvenile chimpanzees were more successful at acquiring tools than male and infant chimpanzees, respectively. The findings indicate a significant role for social learning in the context of complex tool use. The capacity for such helping behaviors may have a shared evolutionary origin among chimpanzees and humans, according to the authors.

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Article #19-07476: “Teaching varies with task complexity in wild chimpanzees,” by Stephanie Musgrave

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MEDIA CONTACT: Stephanie Musgrave, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL; tel: 515-770-9671; email:

[email protected]