Chimpanzees make tools and use them to procure foods and for social exhibitions; they have refined hunting tactics requiring collaboration, influence and rank; they are status cognizant, calculating and capable of trickery; they can learn to use symbols and understand facets of human language including some interpersonal composition, concepts of number and numerical sequence and they are proficient in spontaneous preparation for a future state or event. Tool-use is regularly reported in chimpanzees. They use many different tools to carry out many different tasks. They use sticks to fish for insects, stones and wood to crack open nuts, leaves to soak up liquid, and branches used as weapons to dominate opponents and frighten off predators. In making tools, they may use a variety of different materials to make the same kind of tool. For example, they use sticks, twigs, bark, and vines to fish for termites. They also may use the same material for different purposes. A leaf could be used as a termite probe, a napkin, or a sponge. There are contrasts in tool kits used by different groups of chimpanzees, which seem to be a result of the environment in which they live as well as information that is shared by the group. For example, in 1973 it was reported that chimpanzees in Gombe did not use hammer stones, but those of Cape Palmas did. We will explore the tool use of Chimpanzees from the wild, including Gombe, Tai National Forest, and the Congo Basin---and contrast those with Chimpanzees in captivity in locations of Zoo’s both in the United States and abroad. Development of Tool Use: While most tools reportedly used by chimpanzees have involved extraction of food, such as with termites and nuts, or throwing rocks in order to knock their... ... middle of paper ... ... wild counterparts. The fact is, “Tool Use” and “Tool Making” is a learned behavior. Bibliography Ayumu and Ai: Studies in Animal Intelligence. Films Media Group. 2003. Films on Demand. 25 April 2014. .>. Crickett Sanz, Dave Morgan, & Steve Gulick. "New Insights into Chimpanzees, Tools, and Termites from the Congo Basin." The American Naturalist 164.5 (2004): 56-581. Article. 25 April 2014. de A, Moura A, Lee P. "Wild Capuchins Show Male-biased Feeding Tool Use." International Journal of Primatolgy 31.3 (2010): 457-470. Academic Search Premier. 25 April 2014. . Films Media Group. "Chimps R Us.". 2001. Films on Demand. 25 April 2014. Tanya Lewis Staff Writer. Chimps Learn Tool Use by Watching Others. 30 January 2013. Report. 25 April 2014. .
They have wide chests and their arms are longer than their legs. Chimpanzees’ hands have four long fingers plus an opposable thumb. Their feet have five toes which includes an opposable big toe. Chimpanzees’ can grasp things with both their hands and their feet. Male chimpanzees are larger than female chimpanzees and are slightly sexually dimorphic. Chimpanzees are quadrupeds that typically walk using the soles of feet and the knuckles of their hands. They sometimes walk upright only when they need to use their arms to carry things but this is a rare occurrence. Chimps are also good at brachiating and climbing trees which is where they spend most of their time even when they sleep. Their dental formula is 2.1.2.3. Chimpanzees’ have y5/x4 molars, making them frugivores, and a diastema to fit their upper canines. Their diet includes fruit, leaves, flowers, seeds, smaller mammals, birds, insects, and grubs. When chimps aren’t resting, they can be very active. I enjoyed watching the Chimpanzees’ swing on the ropes and climb up and down the trees. Chimpanzees are
New technologies and advancement in the area of field research has allowed biologist and primatologist to analyze information more effectively and efficiently. Through the non-invasive collection of fecal samples, researchers are able to extract and analyze DNA to help determine individual attribute, as well as population dynamics. In addition to DNA, fecal samples also contain hormones and parasites that help in determining the overall health of the depositor (Newton-Fisher NE, 2010). Other technologies include the use of Geographic Information Systems allows for mapping the ranges of chimpanzees, and satellite imagery is used to view the deforestation of select areas (Goodall, 2002).
Due to all of Jane Goodall’s consecutive studies and patience, the world wouldn’t have as much insight into a primate’s life as of today. Early in her life she always had a fascination of animals, especially chimpanzees. She began her journey as a young British woman with determination and ended by traveling to Tanzania, Africa. It was there when she became more in depth with herself and the chimpanzees. Living in the jungles, Goodall documented the everyday lives to our closest relative. She carved the need to conserve the earth into the world with her logical advances and new discoveries. She had touched the hearts of many animal-loving people and received many awards and achievements for her cause. From the early 20th century to current time, Jane Goodall has influenced the world by her engaged dedication to the observations of chimpanzees and through the scientific studies from her books, articles,
Quiatt, D., & Reynolds, V. (1993). Primate behaviour: information, social knowledge, and the evolution of culture. Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press].
Throughout situations and research conducted by not only Robert Sapolsky or Jane Goodman, but from many other credited sources, we can blatantly see the, if not identical, similarities between the two species of humans and baboons. The most apparent likewise characteristics of this can be read and documented in Professor Sapolsky’s book, A Primate’s Memoirs. Sapolsky, who spent hundreds if not thousands, of hours studying these Savanna Baboons, sheds a vast insight into ideas of social dominance, mating strategies, instinctual prowess, community settings, hygiene, and reform of an entire generation; many of which can be unknowingly seen directly in the common occurrence of a humans daily life.
In Franz De Waal’s book Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex Among Apes, social interactions between the chimpanzees at the Arnhem Zoo in Holland are examined. De Waal spends time observing the lives of these animals and comparing them and their ‘culture’ to human culture. The book follows a power struggle between the three dominant male chimps, Yeroen, Luit, and Nikkie. The book does not exclude female chimps and talks about how they influence the role the alpha males play.
According to National Geographic, scientists have sequenced the genome factor of the chimpanzee and found that humans are 98.5% similar to the ape species. The chimpanzee is our closest relative in the animal kingdom; however, some people are not aware of our resembling traits with chimpanzees. Jane Goodall’s, In the Shadow of Man, describes some similar traits humans and chimpanzees have such as their facial expressions and emotions, use of tools, and diet.
After watching the TED talk from Susan Savage-Rumbaugh on “The gentle genius of bonobos” I had a great interest in the bonobo species. Before watching this video, I had already prior knowledge to the human species being related to the primate species, but never knew how closely we are to bonobos. I used to think chimpanzees were the closest but bonobos can walk in a similar movement to humans, closer than chimpanzees can. I realized how smart bonobos are, as they were able to carry out human related tasks. For example, one bonobo was able to build and start a fire in the woods. I found it interesting that the bonobo used a lighter to start the fire just like a human. Another example, was when one bonobo was learning to drive a golf cart, which
Molecular studies indicate that humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos are very closely related in terms of their lineage, which split into hominid and Pan lines about 6-7 million years ago. Chimpanzees and bonobos share a more recent common ancestry, only about 2-2.5 million years ago. Although they are now considered an endangered species, chimpanzees are extremely successful creatures ecologically and can occupy a wide range of habitats across the African continent near the equator. By contrast, bonobos can be found in a substantially more ecologically restricted region of lowland rain forest in central Zaire (Stanford 399). For the purposes of our ...
Apes have over and over again surpassed other primates in comprehension tests carried out in the laboratory. They are capable of reacting to stimuli in an appropriate manner. Researchers have measured intelligence in primates in a number of situations in an effort to determine the level of cognition these primates possess. Russon and Begun, researchers who have explored ape intelligence state, “In the physical domain, great apes do use tools in ways that require their grade of cognition but they devise equally complex manual techniques and solve equally complex spatial problems” (Russon and Begun 2004). Apes have the abilit...
Primates are considered to be one of the most interesting mammals on earth to study due to their numerous similarities with humans and their complexities in life. Today we look at primates as our closest relatives, meaning that observations and research will not only give us information about non-human primates, but human primates as well. There were many primates to choose from, though I decided to observe two types of primates, the Western Lowland Gorilla, and the Tufted Capuchin Monkey. Both species of primates were observed at the San Diego Zoo. With my research, I will collect data from my observations, give background information from credible sources, and explain the interactions I encountered while observing the two different primates. Before attempting to understand ourselves and other species as primates, it is important to understand that scientific research is the basis for determining our origins as primates, understanding certain species of primates, and why we consider primates to be our closest ancestor.
This article, titled Common Ground, written by Barbara Smuts, points out the main differences between humans and apes, such as our upright stance, large brains, and capacity for spoken language and abstract reasoning. However, the main point of this article is to emphasize the many similarities that apes share with us. Smuts goes into great detail about how human social and emotional tendencies are very reflective in the family of apes.
In 1960, Jane Goodall, witnessed chimpanzees using modified stick to lure out termites. Because, terminates were not visible, the chimpanzee mentally conceived that by placing the stick into the mount termites would latch onto it. The action was not genetic, young chimpanzee learned this extragenetically from witnessing adult chimpanzee’s perform the task.
Jane Goodall’s books, Through a Window, In the Shadow of Man, and The Chimpanzees of Gombe, recount her many years as an observer of chimpanzees and other species of monkeys. In Through a Window, she gives her account of thirty years with chimpanzees in the village of Gombe, off of Lake Tanganyika. During those thirty years with her son and husband, she observed and researched the chimpanzees with the help of other researchers. This book is a collection of the observations and data, in addition to the emotions she felt during this era. The theme of Through a Window is that chimpanzees have very human characteristics and feelings, and she proves this through her descriptions of love, war, power, and life in general.
middle of paper ... ... ceive the trainer in white and pay attention to instructions given by the trainer in green. The chimpanzee successfully got the food most of the time. This supports the idea that non-human animals are capable of deceit. The characteristics of this behaviour are very like a conditioned behaviour.