When the driver looked in the hole, he found a dog sleeping inside -- and only when the dog was chased away would the elephant place the log into the hole (Holdrege, 2001).
Octopi -- Suprisingly, octopi have been shown to use tools. The will retrieve discarded coconut shells, manipulate them, and then reassemble them to use as a makeshift shelter (Coghlan, 2009). Other octopi will use Jellyfish and Portugese Man o War tenticles that they shear as their own weapon. They are the only invertebrates known to use tools and show surprising cognitive ability in mazes, food training, and even handler recognition (Jones, 1963).
Implications - Research into this new discovery is important because it redefines what it means to be "human," as well as implications about the evolution of violence and hominid predation. Finally, an understanding of non-human "culture" may help in answers questions about other intelligent species and human interaction with them.
That the Chimpanzee tribe would be sophisticated enough to carry out a hunt with tools implies several things. First, that the Chimpanzee was aware that they would have greater success in imagining a manipulative that would assist them in a preconceived notion. They would need to imagine the way the Bushbabies hide, and then extrapolate that into finding a tool they could easily manipulate into assisting them in a particular behavior. But it is not just any manipulative that the pick, the pick the best branches that have the best shapes, strip the leaves off them, and actually sharpen the points to make them far more effective weapons than simply using a stick. In fact, these Chimpanzees completed four or more steps to manufacture their tool. They were also able to decide which side branches should be stripped off in order to strengthen the manipulative and also make it less unweildly. They are also able to determine the relative size of the tool in relation to themselves, and adjust the tool accordingly -- in other words, unlike humans, one-size tool does not fit all (Pruetz, 112).
Indeed, studies of chimpanzees show that there is less socialization bias and a predisposition towards innate vs. environmental origins, as politically incorrect as this may seem. Male and female chimpanzees, like humans, considering there is less than a 2% differentiation on our genetic structure, differ. Genetics between the sexes are different, so is anatomy, neurology, and hormonally; yet in studies of chimpanzees these differences to do not necessarily indicate a strict dictum of solid behavior from each. For example, in the wild, female chimpanzees tend to be less competitive, more nurturing, conciliatory, and supportive of older, or weaker individuals. Males are certainly more competitive to pass on their genetic structure, but also depend upon cooperation in the wild, yet continually vie for a hierarchical challenge. Male chimpanzees have different social strategies than females, and yet, when combined, their society typically functions in balance. These behaviors, extrapolated, are likely to have remained similar in proto-humans, thus giving rise to the notion that many behaviors are "wired in" or at least genetically habitual (De Waal, 2007, 195-6).
Too, the actions of the tribe to have the foresight to actually seek out prey and hunt has additional implications. It could be that there is some missing nutrient from their normal diet, or it could be that they find they "enjoy" the hunt, the taste of fresh meat, and have now become habituated into the activity. Indeed, further observation of the tribe found that there seemed to be a group level of excitement when a hunt was planned, and an almost ritualistic fervor in making the tools, preparing for the hunt, and involving younger members of the tribe. These Chimpanzees, manipulated their environment, they trained, they prepared, and they taught hunting skills (Pruetz, 415-16).
Typically, when we speak of culture we mean a full range of learned "human" behavior patterns. We tend to think of culture as the whole of society, the art, music, technology, language, customs -- really the organizational template for the manner in which humans live and prosper. It does not exist in material, only the artifacts...
Primate Behavior Research There can be big differences in the messages from a scholarly, or scientific, article and a main stream, or non-scientific article. The titles and the messages written in the articles can give readers entirely different meanings. The original article may state the study was done one way, but the main stream article tries to write in layman terms and may miss the entire meaning, or the way the
They have nails. The arms and legs are equal length. The Lincoln Park Zoo exhibit differs from its natural environment but is being upgraded. 6. Exhibits: The New World Monkeys appear to be more prominently displayed. The following species are featured in the Lincoln Park Zoo primate exhibit, including: a. Allen's swamp monkey (catarrhine, Allenopithecus nigroviridis, arboreal (tree-dwelling) but semi-terrestrial.) b. Black howler monkey (platyrrhine, Alouatta caraya, rain forests with near constant precipitation to
Phyllis Jay briefly touches on the subject of primates swimming in the book Behavior of Nonhuman Primates; in discussing the habitat of African monkeys, Jay writes (Jay, 1965, p. 535) that the "…distribution of arboreal monkeys is restricted by open, relatively treeless areas" and "rivers are barriers to arboreal monkeys but not to terrestrial forms, many of which swim" (Jay, p. 535). "Long-tailed macaques are excellent swimmers, and this may be
Primate Conservation The conservation of primates and their habitat is a point of major concern for many environmentalists, zoologists and even regular people that have an interest and/or passion for maintaining and sustaining wildlife. There is a litany of different reasons for primates and their conservation status being in danger and those will be covered in this report. Whether it be over-harvesting, habitat destruction or other things, there are many things
An important evolutionary distinction between primates and humans is that puberty and reproduction may begin in primates before the end of the juvenile stage. Comparison of the developmental stages experienced by both primates and humans has provided invaluable information regarding the evolution of both species. This information has allowed anthropologists and biologists to understand how humans successfully combined the features brought on by neoteny such as extended childhood, delayed reproduction
primates are more cognitively advanced than other mammals and that the degree of cognitive awareness and ability grows significantly from prosimians to humans. However, researchers still debate which parameters should be used to define and compare intelligence as well as the causal factors leading to this cognitive growth. Intelligence is a concept hard to define and even more difficult to test for in living species. In studying how human
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