Chimps Use Right Tool for the Job, Study Finds

Six months of continuous videotaping deep in the forests of the Republic of Congo have provided the most detailed look yet at the use of tools by chimpanzees to extract termites from their nests.

The videotapes show the chimps using three tools -- short and long probes, depending on the size of the nest, to puncture the nest and expose termites, and a third stick to fish out the insects.

The fishing probe was most often made of a type of wood generally found at some distance from the nests, Crickette Sanz of Washington University and Dave Morgan of Cambridge University report in the November issue of the American Naturalist. The animals modify the end of the probes with their teeth to give it a feathery surface much like a paintbrush’s, thereby allowing it to capture more termites.

To understand why the chimps brought the probes from what was often a considerable distance, Sanz and Morgan tried using other types of branches and found that they were not nearly as effective.

Adult females were the most common visitors to the nests, with an average stay of about 12 minutes. Males visited less frequently. Mothers were often observed teaching their infants how to fish and showing them the proper way to use the tools.

The National Geographic Society sponsored the research.