A young gorilla in a Congo sanctuary is smashing palm nuts between two rocks to extract oil, surprising and intriguing scientists who say they have much to learn about what gorillas can do–and about what it says about evolution.
It had been thought that the premeditated use of stones and sticks to accomplish a task like cracking nuts was restricted to humans and the smaller, more agile chimpanzees.
Then in late September, keepers at a Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International sanctuary in this eastern Congo city saw the female gorilla Itebero smashing palm nuts between rocks using the “hammer and anvil” technique, considered among the most complex tool-use behaviors.
“This is a surprising finding, given what we know about tool use in gorillas,” primatologist Patrick Mehlman said earlier this month at his Goma office.
Itebero’s actions led some scientists to believe that gorillas in the wild might exhibit complex tool use too, though no one has reported such behavior.
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Compiled from news services and edited by Patrick Olsen (polsen@tribune.com) and Drew Sottardi (dsottardi@tribune.com)
