Originally published October 15 2005
Biologists observe gorillas using simple tools
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Gorillas may be more civilized than we previously thought. Researchers in the Republic of Congo's rainforests recently observed gorillas using simple tools to wade into water and dig up herbs.
For the first time, biologists have documented gorillas in the wild using simple tools, such as poking a stick in a swampy pool of water to check its depth.
Among the great apes, tool use in the wild was thought to be a survival skill reserved for smaller chimpanzees and orangutans.
The research in the Republic of Congo's rainforests was led by Thomas Breuer of the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo, which released details of his study.
Other scientists said the observations were important, but not surprising.
Breuer's observations were made late last year in a marshy clearing called Mbeli Baia located in Nouabale-Ndoki National Park where monitoring has been ongoing since February 1995.
The first instance was observed last October when a female gorilla (nicknamed Leah by scientists) attempted to wade through a pool of water created by elephants, but found herself waist deep after only a few steps.
In November, a second female gorilla (named Efi) used a detached tree trunk to support herself with one hand while digging for herbs with the other hand.
Details of the findings are being published in the online journal PLoS (Public Library of Science) Biology.
Chimps, for example, have been continuously observed in the field for 40 years since Jane Goodall launched her landmark study at Gombe Stream in Tanzania.
They have become stars of television documentaries and glossy magazine articles, displaying their extensive of use of rocks to break open hard-shelled nuts and sticks to "fish" termites from mounds.
"Chimps are portrayed as the super-ape and gorillas are the big brutes in the forest," said Richard Carroll, a primate expert and director of the Africa program at the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, D.C. He has conducted gorilla field studies since 1980.
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