Chimpanzees Use Smart Tool Tricks To Catch Bugs
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Chimpanzees are well known for their intelligence, especially in using tools to hunt and gather food. Now, new research on chimps at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania, Africa, suggests these clever primates are not just tool users — they may also be natural engineers.
The chimps at Gombe often feed on termites. These insects are rich in energy and protein, making them an important food source. But getting to them can be tricky, as they live inside mounds with long, narrow, winding tunnels. The chimps carefully draw them out using thin plant stems or twigs as tools.
This behavior is impressive on its own. But what caught the attention of the team, led by Dr. Alejandra Pascual-Garrido at the University of Oxford was how selective the chimps were. Instead of grabbing any twig that lay close by, the apes looked for specific ones. This made the researchers wonder if the chimps had learned to pick flexible sticks that could move through the twisted tunnels without breaking.
To test this idea, the team collected over 500 specimens from various plants and measured their flexibility. They found that the twigs or stems picked by the chimps were significantly more flexible than the ones they ignored. The chimps also trimmed the stems to match the tunnel size. On average, their "tools" were about 12 inches (30 cm) long and between 2 and 4 mm thick — ideal for termite fishing.
The tool selection and preparation were not unique to the chimps at Gombe. Apes living thousands of miles away used similar hunting techniques. The plant species varied depending on the chimps' location, but they were all flexible enough to do the job. This suggests that tool-making skills may be deeply rooted in their culture. Scientists refer to this as "folk physics" — an instinctive understanding of how different materials behave and which ones work best.
But it is not all instinct either. At Gombe, researchers observed young chimps watching their mothers fish for termites. They then copied what they saw and even reused tools left behind by others. Over time, these choices became part of how they learned and passed on knowledge.
The researchers published their findings in the journal iScience on March 24, 2025. They wrote, "This finding has important implications for understanding how humans might have evolved their remarkable tool using abilities."
Resources: eurekaalert.org, Zmescience.com, Earth.com
