Wild chimps fashion cutlery, chop food into bite-sized portions
By Bryan Nelson
Fri, Dec 25 2009 at 6:39 AM EST
Read more: ANIMAL RESEARCH, NATURE
CHOPPING CHIMPS: Tool use is widespread among chimpanzee populations, but they've never been seen fashioning cutlery before. (Photo: gsz/Flickr) If proper table etiquette is what separates civilized society from the savages, then the boundaries of civilization just got a whole lot wider. For the first time, chimpanzees in Africa's Nimba Mountains have been observed using tools to chop up their food into bite-sized, more manageable portions. Even more interesting: these table manners appear to have been passed from generation to generation.
The chimps use stone and wooden cleavers, as well as stone anvils to process Treculia fruits — hard, fibrous volleyball-sized fruits which can weigh up to 8.5 kilograms.
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DiggBut the apes are not simply cracking into the Treculia to get to otherwise unobtainable food, say researchers. Neighboring chimpanzee populations also eat the fruits but don't process their food this way. Rather, these chimps are actively chopping up the food into more manageable portions simply to make the experience of eating it more pleasant and convenient.
The discovery was made by primate reserachers Kathelijne Koops, William McGrew and Tetsuro Matsuzawa during a monthly survey of chimps (Pan troglodytes) living in the mountain forests of Guinea. It began when Koops found the cleavers and anvils, left behind by a troop of chimps that had been eating the large fruits.
"It's the first time wild chimpanzees have been found to use two distinct types of percussive technology, i.e. movable cleavers versus a non-movable anvil, to achieve the same goal," Koops told the BBC.
In other words, the culinary technology is remarkably sophisticated. The chimp chefs utilize stabilizing wedges and multi-part tool kits, and the kitchen skills required to wield the tools are specialized — potentially worthy of TV's Iron Chef.
Just as humans learn table etiquette from parents and elders, the practice among chimps also appears to be culturally learned. The behavior has only been witnessed among a single troop, making these chimps the only culinary clan in the forest.
"Chimpanzees across Africa vary greatly in the types of tools they use to obtain food. Some groups use stones as hammers and anvils to crack open nuts, whereas others use twigs to fish for termites," Koops said.
Though of course, none of them are quite so civilized as these chimps.
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No races within humanity.
"the popular idea of "race" is a social construct without base in scientific fact."
-> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_%28classification_of_human_beings%29
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I liked the Racism and evolution one...
So true, I am the only white guy in the company I work in... Everyone else is either Black or Japanese... the differences between us arn't much more than culture and how we were raised... we all bleed red... but there are natural and sometimes semi-important assumptions that can be made off of race alone... and very there is no reason to assume that the person would be mad if it is inaccurate... as long as it's not too extreme... what you look like is a social doorway into how you start a.... More
But Seriously..
Did you know that according to the U.S. Cencus, 70% of the U.S. is made up of white people? And only 12% are black? And according to the Department of Justice and Bureau of Justice Statistics the percentage of incarcerated blacks are higher than whites, hispanics, and other races? Just putting this out there as food for thought. Thats alot of evil black people behind bars. :P
and
1% of Africa is white...
yea but
Study the long term effects of institutionalized slavery in the US, and it will all make sense. Read accounts of people in the time, the human experience and what is was like, not just the laws and definitions.
Nonsense
That would make sense if blacks today had ever been enslaved. They haven't.
Racism
Racism is a dumb yet hilarious concept, first of all why would someone make fun of someones race when the only part of your body that is actually YOU is your brain, you have no control over your organs or what skin color you have. 2nd of all, why would anyone get offended over racism, seriously its just skin color, get over it. You cant hate someone for something they cant control. Culture wise though i think its acceptable to dislike, theres plenty of cultures i dislike as im sure theres.... More
dumb
i do not know he individual and whether or not he is racist. But his comment was not racist in anyway that he mentions not race, ethnicity or anything of the such. You are only stating your racist beliefs when you are so quick to imply that his comment is racist. Think before you are so quick to judge.
dumber
You're right, it is silly to read between the lines like that. It would be like extrapolating from your comment that you believe you are a fair, balanced and intelligent person that has a higher perspective on the situation. You simply have stuffed a nice straw man.
When people associate comments/characteristics generally used in stereotyping of blacks with an article involving monkeys, chimps..etc, it can be reasonably deduced that they are making a larger comment than a chimp's.... More
So We're Not the Only Ones
I find it sad we humans are so arrogant. We classify all other animals as inferior yet we destroy our environment in ways no other animal would contemplate.
Crows and Chimps use of tools show we humans are not all that special. Perhaps one of those species will evolve to replace us when we destroy our world due to climate change.
Your a hypocrite
If the world is destroyed by climate change, we humans would certainly die, if we, who are so scientifically advanced than those ''crows, chimps'' die, then what chance have the ''crows, chimps'' got of surviving what we cannot, to out evolve and replace us?
Are you a fool?
Climate is Always Changing!
Ask yourself how old is the oldest coral reef? The answer is less than 15,000 years. The ocean level rose several hundred feet at the end of the last ice age... The sad fact is that climate is not stable. Period.
Awesome!
Now its only a matter of time until they are wearing pants hanging off of, and busting a cap in each others... arse.
racist inbred
You are a racist inbred piece of crap.
That is all.
Really?
Is your cute expression of racism truly how you are going to ring in the new year? I am sorry that your supreme whiteness must be subjected to a world where other cultures and colors are allowed to exist. It must be very hard for you to be represent only 10-15% of so of the world's population...
Or perhaps we should assume that these chimps would evolve to live in double wides, mate with cousins, lose all but a couple stubborn teeth and love nascar and country music?
In other words,.... More
prejudice
You've made the huge assumption the racist above is a white southerner. The racist could have been from any of several races or locales.
Like the culinary chimps, you've learned to prejudge all white southerners to be racist. Just look at your own family photo albums. It's easy to spot real racists. How many non-whites are in those albums? You're a racist and don't know it. You're from an extended family of racists.
btw,
it's -legal- to marry first cousins in the.... More
Jump to conclusions much?
Isn't assuming that the original racist comment was made by a hillbilly white guy stereotyping? The comment could have easily been made by a Mexican, Korean, etc... So by jumping to conclusions based off of a stereotype, doesn't that make you racist too?
See, it's easy to play the "Your A Racist" game. Now it's your turn to accuse me of being a racist even though: most of my friends are Mexican or Middle-Eastern, most of the people at my university are minorities, and that I voted.... More
Racism and evolution
Racism seems to be an evolved response that plays a role in the selection of individuals that form a group. It has an important role to play. Imagine if all of humanity grew so similar that we would all have one perspective, one culture, and would never argue. We would find ourselves in an evolutionary dead end.
So don't be so quick to discount racists, it only demonstrates our limited cultural understanding of life's processes.
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