Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Tool-use for drinking water by immature chimpanzees of Mahale: prevalence of an unessential behavior

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Primates Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Use of leaves or sticks for drinking water has only rarely been observed during long-term study of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) at Mahale. Recently, however, we observed 42 episodes of tool-use for drinking water (73 tools and two cases of using “tool-sets”) between 1999 and 2004. Interestingly, all of the performers were immature chimpanzees aged from 2 to 10 years. Immature chimpanzees sometimes observed the tool-using performance of others and subsequently reproduced the behavior, while adults usually paid no attention to the performance. This tool-use did not seem to occur out of necessity: (1) chimpanzees often used tools along streams where they could drink water without tools, (2) they used tools for drinking water from tree holes during the wet season when they could easily obtain water from many streams, and (3) the tool-using performance sometimes contained playful aspects. Between-site comparisons revealed that chimpanzees at drier habitats used tools for drinking water more frequently and in a more “conventional” manner. However, some variations could not be explained by ecological conditions. Such variations and the increase in this tool-use in recent years at Mahale strongly suggest that social learning plays an important role in the process of acquiring the behavior. We should note here that such behaviors that lack obvious benefits or necessity can be prevalent in a group.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Assersohn C, Whiten A, Kiwede ZT, Tinka J, Karamagi J (2004) Use of leaves to inspect ectoparasites in wild chimpanzees: a third cultural variant? Primates 45:255–258

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Biro D, Inoue-Nakamura N, Tonooka R, Yamakoshi G, Sousa C, Matsuzawa T (2003) Cultural innovation and transmission of tool use in wild chimpanzees: evidence from field experiments. Anim Cogn 6:213–223

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boesch C (1991) Handedness in wild chimpanzees. Int J Primatol 12:541–558

    Google Scholar 

  • Boesch C, Boesch-Achermann H (2000) The chimpanzees of the Taï forest: behavioural ecology and evolution. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark Arcadi A, Robert D, Mugurusi F (2004) A comparison of buttress drumming by male chimpanzees from two populations. Primates 45:135–139

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goodall J (1964) Tool-using and aimed throwing in a community of free-living chimpanzees. Nature 201:1264–1266

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goodall J (1986) The chimpanzees of Gombe. Harvard University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayaki H (1985) Social play of juvenile and adolescent chimpanzees in the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania. Primates 26:343–360

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayashi M, Matsuzawa T (2003) Cognitive development in object manipulation by infant chimpanzees. Anim Cogn 6:225–233

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hiraiwa-Hasegawa M (1990) Maternal investment before weaning. In: Nishida T (ed) The chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains: sexual and life history strategies. University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, pp 257–266

    Google Scholar 

  • Hiraiwa-Hasegawa M, Hasegawa T, Nishida T (1984) Demographic study of a large-sized unit-group of chimpanzees in the Mahale Mountains, Tanzania: a preliminary report. Primates 25:401–413

    Google Scholar 

  • Huffman MA (1984) Stone-play of Macaca fuscata in Arashiyama B troop: transmission of a non-adaptive behavior. J Hum Evol 13:725–735

    Google Scholar 

  • Humle T, Matsuzawa T (2002) Ant-dipping among the chimpanzees of Bossou, Guinea, and some comparisons with other sites. Am J Primatol 58:133–148

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt KD, McGrew WC (2002) Chimpanzees in the dry habitats of Assirik, Senegal and Semliki Wildlife Reserve, Uganda. In: Boesch C, Hohmann G, Marchant LF (eds) Behavioural diversity in chimpanzees and bonobos. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 35–51

    Google Scholar 

  • Itoh N (2002) Food in the forests: chimpanzee food density and space distribution. In: Nishida T, Uehara S, Kawanaka K (eds) The Mahale chimpanzees: thirty-seven years of “panthropology.” Kyoto University Press, Kyoto, pp 77–100 (in Japanese)

  • Kitahara-Frisch J, Norikoshi K (1982) Spontaneous sponge-making in captive chimpanzees. J Hum Evol 11:41–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Lanjouw A (2002) Behavioural adaptations to water scarcity in Tongo chimpanzees. In: Boesch C, Hohmann G, Marchant LF (eds) Behavioural diversity in chimpanzees and bonobos. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 52–60

    Google Scholar 

  • van Lawick-Goodall J (1968) The behaviour of free-living chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream Reserve. Anim Behav Monogr 1:161–311

    Google Scholar 

  • Matsusaka T (2004) When does play panting occur during social play in wild chimpanzees? Primates 45:221–229

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Matsusaka T, Kutsukake N (2002) Use of leaf-sponge and leaf-spoon by juvenile chimpanzees at Mahale. Pan Africa News 9(1):6–9http://mahale.web.infoseek.co.jp/PAN/9_1/9(1)-04.html

    Google Scholar 

  • McGrew WC (1977) Socialization and object manipulation of wild chimpanzees. In: Chevalier-Skolnikoff S, Poirier FE (eds) Primate bio-social development. Garland Publishing, New York, pp 261–288

    Google Scholar 

  • McGrew WC (1992) Chimpanzee material culture. (Translated into Japanese by Nishida T, Adachi K, Suzuki S 1996 Nakayama-Shoten, Tokyo)

  • McGrew WC, Marchant LF, Nishida T (eds) (1996) Great ape societies. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

  • Mitani JC, Hasegawa T, Gros-Louis J, Marler P, Byrne R (1992) Dialects in wild chimpanzees? Am J Primatol 27:233–243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morimura N (2003) A note on enrichment for spontaneous tool use by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Appl Anim Behav Sci 82:241–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakamura M (2002) Grooming-hand-clasp in Mahale M group chimpanzees: implications for culture in social behaviours. In: Boesch C, Hohmann G, Marchant LF (eds) Behavioural diversity in chimpanzees and bonobos. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 71–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakamura M, McGrew WC, Marchant LF, Nishida T (2000) Social scratch: another custom in wild chimpanzees? Primates 41:237–248

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakamura M, Uehara S (2004) Proximate factors of different types of grooming hand-clasp in Mahale chimpanzees: implications for chimpanzee social customs. Curr Anthropol 45:108–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T (1980) Local differences in responses to water among wild chimpanzees. Folia Primatol 33:189–209

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T (1988) Development of social grooming between mother and offspring in wild chimpanzees. Folia Primatol 50:109–123

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T (1990) A quarter century of research in the Mahale Mountains: an overview. In: Nishida T (ed) The chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains: sexual and life history strategies. University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, pp 3–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T (2003) Individuality and flexibility of cultural behavior patterns in chimpanzees. In: de Waal FBM, Tyack PL (eds) Animal social complexity. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, pp 392–417

    Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T, Corp N, Hamai M, Hasegawa T, Hiraiwa-Hasegawa M, Hosaka K, Hunt KD, Itoh N, Kawanaka K, Matsumoto-Oda A, Mitani JC, Nakamura M, Norikoshi K, Sakamaki T, Turner L, Uehara S, Zamma K (2003) Demography, female life history, and reproductive profiles among the chimpanzees of Mahale. Am J Primatol 59:99–121

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T, Hiraiwa M (1982) Natural history of a tool-using behavior by wild chimpanzees in feeding upon wood-boring ants. J Hum Evol 11:73–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T, Hiraiwa-Hasegawa M, Hasegawa T, Takahata Y (1985) Group extinction and female transfer in wild chimpanzees in the Mahale National Park, Tanzania. Z Tierpsychol 67:284–301

    Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T, Mitani JC, Watts DP (2004) Variable grooming behaviours in wild chimpanzees. Folia Primatol 75:31–36

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T, Wallauer W (2003) Leaf-pile pulling: an unusual play pattern in wild chimpanzees. Am J Primatol 60:167–173

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T, Wrangham RW, Goodall J, Uehara S (1983) Local differences in plant-feeding habits of chimpanzees between the Mahale Mountains and Gombe National Park, Tanzania. J Hum Evol 12:467–480

    Google Scholar 

  • Nishie H (2002) The proximate factors of stone handling behaviour of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) in Arashiyama E troop. Primate Res 18:225–232 (in Japanese with English summary)

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips KA (1998) Tool use in wild capuchin monkeys (Cebus albifrons trinitatis). Am J Primatol 46:259–261

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • van Schaik CP, Ancrenaz M, Borgen G, Galdikas B, Knott CD, Singleton I, Suzuki A, Utami SS, Merrill M (2003) Orangutan cultures and the evolution of material culture. Science 299:102–105

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sugiyama Y (1989) Description of some characteristic behaviors and discussion on their propagation process among chimpanzees of Bossou, Guinea. In: Sugiyama Y (ed) Behavioral studies of wild chimpanzees at Bossou, Guinea. KUPRI, Inuyama, pp 43–76

    Google Scholar 

  • Sugiyama Y (1995) Drinking tools of wild chimpanzees at Bossou. Am J Primatol 37:263–269

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sugiyama Y (1997) Social tradition and the use of tool-composites by wild chimpanzees. Evol Anthropol 6:23–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suzuki S, Kuroda S, Nishihara T (1995) Tool-set for termite-fishing by chimpanzees in the Ndoki Forest, Congo. Behaviour 132:219–235

    Google Scholar 

  • Takasaki H, Nishida T, Uehara S, Norikoshi K, Kawanaka K, Takahata Y, Hiraiwa-Hasegawa M, Hasegawa T, Hayaki H, Masui K, Huffman MA (1990) Summary of meteorological data at Mahale research camps, 1973–1988. In: Nishida T (ed) The chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains: sexual and life history strategies. University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, pp 291–300

    Google Scholar 

  • Takeshita H, van Hooff JARAM (1996) Tool use by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) of the Arnhem Zoo community. Jpn Psychol Res 38:163–173

    Google Scholar 

  • Tonooka R (2001) Leaf-folding behavior for drinking water by wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) at Bossou, Guinea. Anim Cogn 4:325–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tonooka R, Tomonaga M, Matsuzawa T (1997) Acquisition and transmission of tool making and use for drinking juice in a group of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Jpn Psychol Res 39:253–265

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner LA (2000) Vegetation and chimpanzee ranging in the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania. PhD thesis, Kyoto University, Kyoto

  • Whiten A, Goodall J, McGrew WC, Nishida T, Reynolds V, Sugiyama Y, Tutin CEG, Wrangham RW, Boesch C (1999) Cultures in chimpanzees. Nature 399:682–685

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Whiten A, Goodall J, McGrew WC, Nishida T, Reynolds V, Sugiyama Y, Tutin CEG, Wrangham RW, Boesch C (2001) Charting cultural variation in chimpanzees. Behaviour 138:1481–1516

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wrangham RW, Nishida T (1983) Aspilia spp. leaves: a puzzle in the feeding behavior of wild chimpanzees. Primates 24:276–282

    Google Scholar 

  • Wrangham RW, de Waal FBM, McGrew WC (1994) The challenge of behavioral diversity. In: Wrangham RW, McGrew WC, de Waal FBM, Heltne PG (eds) Chimpanzee cultures. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, pp 1–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamakoshi G (1998) Dietary responses to fruit scarcity of wild chimpanzees at Bossou, Guinea: possible implications for ecological importance of tool use. Am J Phys Anthropol 106:283–295

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yamakoshi G, Myowa-Yamakoshi M 2004 New observations of ant-dipping techniques in wild chimpanzees at Bossou, Guinea. Primates 45:25–32

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology, Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, Mahale Mountains Wildlife Research Centre, and Tanzania National Parks for permitting us to do this research at Mahale and for their support while we were in Tanzania; L.F. Marchant, W.C. McGrew, H. Takasaki, T. Tsukahara, and M. Bunengwa for providing information about the previous observations of the studied tool-use; T. Humle, K.D. Hunt, and an anonymous referee, and the associate editor, W.C. McGrew, for useful comments and suggestions that have improved the manuscript; J. Yamagiwa, Y. Takenoshita, and other members of the Laboratory of Human Evolution Studies, Kyoto University for their useful comments and support. This study was financially supported by MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A1) (#12375003 and #16255007 to T.N.), MEXT COE Research (#10CE2005 to Osamu Takenaka), MEXT 21st century COE Research Kyoto University (#A14), and JSPS Research Fellowships (to N.K.).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Human Evolution Studies, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Takahisa Matsusaka, Hitonaru Nishie, Masaki Shimada & Michio Nakamura

  2. Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Nobuyuki Kutsukake

  3. Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan

    Koichiro Zamma

  4. Japan Monkey Centre, Inuyama, Japan

    Toshisada Nishida

Authors
  1. Takahisa Matsusaka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hitonaru Nishie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Masaki Shimada
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Nobuyuki Kutsukake
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Koichiro Zamma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Michio Nakamura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Toshisada Nishida
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Takahisa Matsusaka.

About this article

Cite this article

Matsusaka, T., Nishie, H., Shimada, M. et al. Tool-use for drinking water by immature chimpanzees of Mahale: prevalence of an unessential behavior. Primates 47, 113–122 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-005-0158-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-005-0158-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation