Wild Gorillas In Congo Seen To Use Tools

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Gorillas have been seen for the first time using simple tools to perform tasks in the wild, researchers say. Scientists observed gorillas in a remote Congolese forest using sticks to test the depth of muddy water and to cross swampy areas. Wild chimps and orangutans also use tools, suggesting that the origins of tool use may predate the evolutionary split between apes and humans.

"In the first case, we had a female crossing a pool; and this female has crossed this pool by using a detached stick and testing the water depth, and trying to use it as a walking stick," he told the BBC. The second case saw another female gorilla pick up the trunk of a dead shrub and use it to lean on while dredging for food in a swamp. She then placed the trunk down on the swampy ground and used it as a bridge.

This discovery makes the gorilla the last of the great apes to be documented using tools in the wild. Though some monkeys and birds also use tools, Thomas Breuer believes that the great apes are special. "We have now seen tool use in all the great apes in the wild," he said. "That now makes us think that it might be the case that tool use has been an ancient trait of all great apes before the human lineage split away."


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