Wild chimpanzee mothers teach young to use tools

Date: October 11, 2016

Source: Washington University in St. Louis

The first documented evidence of wild chimpanzee mothers teaching their offspring to use tools has been captured by video cameras set to record chimpanzee tool-using activity at termite mounds in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo, according to new research from anthropologists at Washington University in St. Louis.

"Wild chimpanzees are exceptional tool users, but in contrast to humans, there has been little evidence to date that adult chimpanzees teach youngsters tool skills," said Stephanie Musgrave, the study's first author and an anthropology graduate student in Arts & Sciences.

"We found that mother chimpanzees in the Goualougo Triangle teach by transferring termite-fishing probes to their offspring," Musgrave said. "In this population, chimpanzees select specific herb species to make their fishing probes, and they produce probes that have a particular brush-tipped design. By sharing tools, mothers may teach their offspring the appropriate material and form for manufacturing fishing probes."

Published in the journal Scientific Reports, the study is based on research conducted in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Max Planck Institute and Franklin and Marshall College. The findings have important implications for the evolution of teaching.

"It is easy for us to take for granted the importance of sharing information to learn complex skills, as it is ubiquitous in humans," said Crickette Sanz, associate professor of biological anthropology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University and co-author of the study. "Our research shows that the evolutionary origins of this behavior are likely rooted in contexts where particular skills are too challenging for an individual to invent on their own."

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