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Chimps are lifelong learners, study on tool use shows

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Chimpanzees, like humans, can use a variety of tools to perform tasks such as getting food from hard-to-reach places. Now, a study published in PLOS Biology has found that, also like humans, chimps continue learning and refining those skills well into adulthood. This lifelong learning and continual development of skills is critical for the survival of chimpanzees in the wild, says lead author Mathieu Malherbe, from the Ape Social Mind Lab at Marc Jeannerod Institute of Cognitive Sciences in France and the Taï Chimpanzee Project in Côte d’Ivoire. “Chimpanzees’ ability to extract food [that would otherwise be inaccessible] using stick tools might be essential in times of food scarcity which is happening more and more due to climate change,” Malherbe said in an email to Mongabay. “Chimpanzees have one of the most diverse tool kit, apart from humans. Conservation projects should be focusing on helping preserving these behavioral traits as preserving this species will help us understand our evolutionary history,” he added. Researchers trying to understand human evolution have identified tool use as a driving force behind both brain development and the long-term dependency of juveniles in the primate lineage, Malherbe said. Likewise, humans’ ability to learn across our entire lifespan has been credited for our ability to flexibly use a wide array of tools. The researchers note that while many studies have examined how chimps acquire the skills to use tools, very few have looked at how they develop these abilities across their lifetime, especially in the wild. As…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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