How Animals Use Tools
Tagged: animal, animals, bird, cat, fish, insectMasters of Improvisation.
The word ‘tool’ usually conjures up an image of something that is a human invention. However some animals also use tools. Usually this is for two reasons : to obtain food or to provide protection. Most tool-using animals use just one kind of tool for a specific job. However a rare few such as chimpanzees and orang-utans have develop a whole kit which they use in a variety of ways. Animals that don’t use tools are not less intelligent : it is simply that they can survive perfectly well without them. For tool-use to evolve, it has to involve something that helps the animal to survive.
Defensive Measures
South American spider and howler monkeys use tools as weapons, hurling or dropping sticks from the trees onto predators below. Cimpanzees seize sticks and stones which they wave menacingly at a predatoronly throwingthem if the predator starts to approach. The black palm cockatoo of Australia also uses sticks in a threatening way, beating them against tree trunks to advertise itsterritory to rivals.Birds such as starlings, blackbirds, Eurasian jays and antibirds have learnt to use other animals defences to their own advantage. Rubbing live ants over their plumage causes ants to squirt defensive formic acid, which kills the birds parasites.
Cracking Eggs
Many animals use tools to get food out of tough objects. with their protein-rich contents, eggs, in particular, have led animals to develop tool-using behaviour. The Egyptian mongoose finds a rock, then hurls the egg from between its legs against it. The ten-striped mongoose from Madagascar lies on its back on its back on rocky ground and uses all four paws to throw the egg into the air so that it smasheson the ground. Other egg-smashers that use rocks as anvils include raccoons and baboons. Egyptian vultures use rocks to break open eggs and will search as far as 50 yards from the egg to find the right smashing tool.
Tools for Survival
for tool-use to become part of an animal’s behaviour, the ‘tool’ must be readily available in its own environment. Animals must also gain a significant advantage from it, such as broadening the range of food they can eat. The woodpecker finch of the Galapagos Islands uses a cactus spine to extract grubs from deep crevices, trimming it to size and carrying it around for re-use. Japan’s green-backed heron uses grubs, insects and berries as fish bait, scattering them on the water’s surface. Sea otters crack open sea urchins or shellfish by using a pebble as a makeshift anvil. Rather than discard the anvil, the sea otter often tucks it under an arm when it dives to the seabed in search of the next meal. It also uses the stone to prise abalone shell a type of shellfish, off rocks.
Brains and Talent
Tool-use is more common among primates tahn any other group. Primates also use a surprising number of different tools. One orang-utan, for example was observed using 54 different tools for different tasks – each one custom-made. Primates use tools more than other animals because they have bigger brains than most, making them better equipped to solve problems and their nimble hands and feet are better able to manipulate objects. Some tool-using animals seem to have the skills ‘hardwired’ into them and are able to perform tasks without first learning them. For others it is a process of imitation and experiment. However the extent to which animals learn, adapt and develop tool-use does depend on inherited intelligence and dexterity. Animals that learn to use tools, such as primates, have more potential than those that are born with an instinctive ability because they can adapt their acquired knowledge to circumstances.
Superior Tools-Users
Chimpanzees are the most ingenious tool-users on the planet, apart from ourselves. They not only use ready-made tools, such as stones for anvils or weapons, but also create new ones for many specific purposes. In some cases, different groups of chimpanzees have develop different tools and techniques to perform similar jobs. These are learnt by the youngsters and passed on down the generations.
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