Chimpanzees may be far smarter with tools than we thought. A new study has found that wild chimps don’t just use sticks randomly they carefully pick plants based on how flexible they are almost like little engineers using physics to design their tools.
The research, carried out by scientists from the University of Oxford, Max Planck Institute, Jane Goodall Institute, and others, studied chimpanzees in Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park. They found that chimps pick certain types of plant material to make tools for fishing termites, choosing sticks that bend easily over stiffer ones.
The studypublished in the journal iScience, revealed that chimpanzees instinctively understand the physical properties of different materials what scientists are calling a kind of “folk physics.” The chimps seem to know which sticks work best for the job, showing both technical skill and smart decision-making.
Lead researcher Alejandra Pascual-Garrido explained, “This is the first clear evidence that wild chimps choose their termite fishing tools based on mechanical properties.” To prove this, the researchers even brought a mechanical testing device to the forest and tested how hard it was to bend various plant materials. Turns out, the plants chimps never used were 175% more rigid than the ones they chose.
The researchers believe chimps may learn these tool-making skills partly by trial and error, and partly through social learning watching others or sharing tools in the group.
What’s even more fascinating is what this could mean for us. By understanding how chimpanzees build and use tools, scientists believe we can learn more about how early humans might have developed similar skills and eventually become expert tool users, shaping the course of evolution.
In short, chimps aren’t just clever they might be natural-born engineers.
