Tool Users.

P

Pertinax

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
As we're in something of a 'discovery' mode- anomalures, species we haven't heard of, odd behaviour like woodcocks carrying their chicks in flight, how about Tool- Using animals?

There are some very obvious ones- e.g. Chimpanzees and Galapagos Finches, and some rather less well known ones. How many can YOU name.....:)
 
An unusual one is a video which Sun Wukong posted on another thread, it showed a Ratel carrying a log towards a wall and setting it up before attempting an escape. ;)
 
most captive behaviour(apart from abnormal that is) is mirrored by something that happens in the wild. I think Ratels raid bees nests? Maybe they sometimes use a 'stepladder' like this in order to help climb trees. (...but do they climb trees?)

The one that fascinates me is the Palm Cockatoo- it holds a stick in its foot (like a drumstick) and taps it against a hollow tree trunk as a signal... remarkable behaviour for a bird.
 
Andean Bears have been observed to use branches to get elevated food-and sometimes even use logs to escape (like in Berlin Zoo). And we know all how crafty apes, especially Orangs, can be...Crows should be mentioned, especially the New Caledonian species. What about Sea otters and Egyptian Vultures using rocks? Or Bearded Vultures, throwing bones on rocks? Elephants using & throwing branches? Dolphins at Shark Bay using sponges?
Cultural transmission of tool use in bottlenose dolphins -- Krützen et al. 102 (25): 8939 -- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
@CZJimmy: Ah, I knew You would love that one...;) According to the description, he managed to escape several times before they found out about his little trick.
 
Last edited:
I've seen those dolphins! They look like clowns when they surface with yellow sponges stuck on their beaks. Each one has a favourite sponge and uses it over and over again until it falls to pieces.
 
I've seen footage of a wild ratel (I can't remember which documentary it was on) moving a log into position to get at food in a tree branch.

In the Chicago Zoo many years ago their kiwi had a worm-dispensing machine; it stuffed leaves into the sensor so that the machine would cough up a continuous supply of worms.

EDIT: the documentary was "Land Of The Tiger", and apparently the ratel was trying to get at a baby kingfisher in the roots hanging from the roof of a cave
Honey Badger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
Last edited:
Most of the examples of tool use I can think of I have seen on documentaries, and many have already been mentioned.

The ratel example was a remarkable piece of footage. The animal was very persistent but despite rolling the log into position and balancing on it to reach higher into the tree roots, it couldn't quite reach the kingfisher chick.

The New Caledonian crow behaviour was filmed for The Life of Birds, as was another extraordinary shot of carrion crows in Japanese cities placing nuts on to pedestrian crossings, so that cars would crack them open as they drove over them, then retrieving them when the traffic stopped (though this is not strictly tool use).

In The Life of Mammals, capuchins were filmed using tree stumps as anvils to crack open clam shells.
 
Not sure if this is well known but some primate tool use seems to be "cultural", i.e. one troop of Chimps will use a tool in a certain way while another troop nearby will not have acquired the skill, as the skill is passed from generation to generation thru observation... Not only that but the skill must be acquired by six years of age or it cannot be learnt (you can't teach an old chimp new tricks)...
 
@^Chris^: I don't know about Golden Eagles, but Bearded Vultures have been observed to do so-which, according to legend, seemed to have been fatal for Aeschylus...;)
 
^Chris^ said:
Don't some Golden Eagles do this with tortoises?
Click to expand...

something does it with tortoises, not sure if its Eagles or Lamergeir though.

Chimps- yep- the 'Gombe' chimps use their sticks to fish for termites, but they don't crack open palm nuts with rocks like chimps in some other region(West Africa?) do.

Interesting about chimps not being able to learn new behaviour after the age of six. Same with many other primates I think.
 
What about in the Trials of Life - (David Attenborough of course :)) there is a wonderful piece of footage of a wasp (I forget which species) using a flat pebble as a pneumatic hammer by vibrating its wings creating a pulse through its head. It uses this to seal and compress the entrance to it's nursery burrow that it filled in with grit and dust. If you haven't seen it, it is well worth watching - apparently one of the very few instances of insects using tools.
 
hehe thanks - I couldn't for the life of me remember - and I only watched that episode last night too...*sigh*. It is certainly a wonderful piece of footage.
 
Yes, it is golden eagles that are known to drop tortoises on to rocks to smash their shells, and this was first filmed for the BBC Wildlife Special "Eagle" in 1997 (another Attenborough program, inevitably). The eagles in question were filmed in Israel.

However a quick Google search reveals that this behaviour has apparently been observed in imperial eagles and lammergeiers (bearded vulture) too.
 
Now I come to think of it, is dropping bones and unfortunate tortoises to smash them open actually tool use?- I guess height and the force of gravity and the rocks below count aa tools in which case it is.
 
Pertinax said:
Now I come to think of it, is dropping bones and unfortunate tortoises to smash them open actually tool use?- I guess height and the force of gravity and the rocks below count aa tools in which case it is.
Click to expand...


I'd say it counts- the rock 'anvil' is a specifically chosen tool. I expect when they find a rock that works they'll use it repeatedly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top