Chimpanzees, the Toolmakers
Chimpanzees are the most prolific tool users among apes, fashioning sticks to fish termites and ants from their nests, using stones as hammers and anvils to crack open hard-shelled nuts, and chewing leaves into sponges to soak up water from tree hollows. Different chimpanzee communities have distinct tool traditions passed down through observation and practice.
Orangutans and Leaf Umbrellas
Orangutans use leafy branches as umbrellas during rain and construct elaborate sleeping platforms nightly by weaving branches together high in the canopy. In captivity, orangutans have shown remarkable problem-solving with tools, including using sticks to retrieve out-of-reach food.
What Tool Use Reveals
Ape tool use is significant because it demonstrates planning, cultural transmission between generations, and an understanding of cause and effect — cognitive traits once thought unique to humans. Researchers view these behaviors as some of the strongest evidence for the shared evolutionary roots of great ape and human intelligence.
