Chimps use sponges made of leaves and moss to soak up hard-to-reach drinking water. A new study tracks an innovation in tool use as it spreads via social learning through the entire group. (Photo credit: Catherine Hobaiter)
It’s long been suspected that tool use in chimps is passed on socially, but a new study catches them in the act and puts a number on the impact.
Researchers observing chimps in Uganda noticed that when one adult male discovered a new way of using leaves and moss to soak up water for drinking, others observing him quickly started using the same tools.
Using simulations of behaviour transmission on the observed social networks, the researchers were able to calculate that each chimp observing the behaviour was 15 times more likely to learn it themselves, while those that simply found discarded tools were not as likely to pick it up.
The findings shed light on how humans developed cultural practices.
Additional photos and videos are available.
Original research paper published in PLOS Biology on September 30, 2014.
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