The ontogeny of termite gathering among chimpanzees in the Goualougo Triangle, Republic of Congo.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Acquiring tool-assisted foraging skills can potentially improve dietary quality and increase fitness for wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). In contrast to chimpanzees in East and West Africa, chimpanzees in the Congo Basin use tool sets and brush-tipped fishing probes to gather termites. We investigated the ontogeny of these tool skills in chimpanzees of the Goualougo Triangle, Republic of Congo, and compared it to that for chimpanzees at Gombe, Tanzania. We assessed whether chimpanzees acquired simple tool behaviors and single tool use before more complex actions and sequential use of multiple tool types.

Materials and methods

Using a longitudinal approach, we scored remote video footage to document the acquisition of termite-gathering critical elements for 25 i

SUBMITTER: Musgrave S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7818130 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature