Wilfried Ebang Ella Ghislain, Yamagiwa Juichi
Masuku University (USTM), B.P. 13354, Franceville, Gabon.
Primates. 2014 Oct;55(4):467-72. doi: 10.1007/s10329-014-0431-5. Epub 2014 Jun 12.
We report our recent findings on the use of tool sets by chimpanzees in Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, Gabon. Direct observations and evidences left by chimpanzees showed that chimpanzees used sticks as pounders, enlargers, and collectors to extract honey from beehives of stingless bees (Meliponula sp.), which may correspond to those previously found in the same site for fishing termites and to those found in Loango National Park, Gabon. However, we observed chimpanzees using a similar set of tools for hunting a medium-sized mammal (possibly mongoose) that hid inside a log. This is the first report of hunting with tools by a chimpanzee population in Central Africa. Chimpanzees may recognize the multiple functions and applicability of tools (extracting honey and driving prey), although it is still a preliminary speculation. Our findings may provide us a new insight on the chimpanzee's flexibility of tool use and cognitive abilities of complex food gathering.
我们报告了我们最近关于加蓬穆卡拉巴 - 杜杜国家公园黑猩猩使用工具集的研究发现。黑猩猩留下的直接观察结果和证据表明，黑猩猩使用树枝作为捣具、扩张器和收集器，从无刺蜜蜂（Meliponula sp.）的蜂巢中提取蜂蜜，这可能与之前在同一地点发现的用于钓白蚁的树枝以及在加蓬卢安果国家公园发现的树枝类似。然而，我们观察到黑猩猩使用类似的一组工具来捕猎藏在原木内的一种中型哺乳动物（可能是獴）。这是关于中非黑猩猩群体使用工具捕猎的首次报告。尽管这仍是一个初步推测，但黑猩猩可能认识到工具的多种功能和适用性（提取蜂蜜和驱赶猎物）。我们的发现可能为我们提供关于黑猩猩工具使用灵活性和复杂食物采集认知能力的新见解。
