Quick Take
- This hunting technique solves a problem that raw strength alone never could. How tools solve the hunt →
- Scientists once thought weapon production during hunts was a uniquely human trait, but these chimps changed that. Rethinking non-human weapon use →
- Chimpanzees are some of the only animals (aside from humans) who manufacture their own hunting tools.
Humans often use weapons when hunting or defending themselves. However, we are not the only animals that create our own hunting tools. Chimpanzees in southeast Senegal have exhibited this behavior. In fact, scientists have documented them collecting branches and sharpening the ends with their teeth to create spear-like weapons.
Here’s everything you should know about chimpanzees and their unique hunting process.
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The Chimpanzee Hunting Process: Making and Using Hunting Tools
Did you know that chimpanzees create their own hunting tools? That’s right: chimpanzees in southeastern Senegal manufacture spear-like sticks that help them hunt small, nocturnal primates hiding inside tree cavities. Their prey includes colobus monkeys, mangabeys, putty-nosed monkeys, and bush babies, among other small animals.
These chimpanzees select branches, remove leaves and side twigs, and sometimes even sharpen the tips with their teeth to create spear-like sticks. These sharpened sticks are then used by the chimpanzees as hunting tools. They forcefully poke the spears into hollow spaces occupied by bush babies and other small primates, often killing their prey.
Weapon Production and Tool-Assisted Hunting in Non-Human Animals
According to a 2007 article in The Washington Post, the chimpanzees living in the West African savannah provided the first evidence of deadly weapon production in animals (other than humans). Scientists consider this active and deliberate manufacturing to be quite rare.
Female and younger chimpanzees are more likely to engage in tool-assisted hunting.
©Darcy Perkins/Shutterstock.com
Additionally, a 2007 study published in the journal Current Biology found that mostly female and immature chimpanzees exhibit this behavior.
“Although tool use is known to occur in species ranging from naked mole rats to owls, chimpanzees are the most accomplished tool users,” the study authors wrote. “The modification and use of tools during hunting, however, is still considered to be a uniquely human trait among primates.”
“At the Fongoli site in Senegal, we observed ten different chimpanzees use tools to hunt prosimian prey in 22 bouts,” they continued. “This includes immature chimpanzees and females, members of age-sex classes not normally characterized by extensive hunting behavior. Chimpanzees made 26 different tools, and we were able to recover and analyze 12 of these. Tool construction entailed up to five steps, including trimming the tool tip to a point. Tools were used in the manner of a spear, rather than a probe or raking tool.”
Tool-assisted hunting is especially helpful in non-dominant animals, such as female and younger chimpanzees. By jabbing their prey with a spear-like tool, these chimpanzees do not need to rely as heavily on physical strength to capture food.
