Quick Take
- Chimps eat from a menu of around 80 items, and one seasonal snack pushes them to invent a surprisingly clever workaround. Discover why chimps eat algae →
- Tool use in chimps isn't instinct, and the timeline for mastering it will catch most people off guard. See how tool skills develop →
- Not every chimp knows this trick, and the reason why reveals something fascinating about animal culture. Find out which chimps do this →
- Chimps and water have a complicated relationship, which is the key reason this feeding strategy exists at all. Explore chimps' aversion to water →
In a shaded stream floats a nutritious snack that chimps love to feed on, but how can they get to the treat without falling in? The answer is revealed in this Instagram post. Watch how the clever chimps strip leaves from a stick and then use them to pull up the algae. Thanks to their intelligence, the chimps have learned how to exploit a valuable seasonal source of food.
Why Do Chimps Eat Algae?
Chimpanzees are not that fussy about what they eat, and their diet is made up of around 80 different items. Most of the time they feast on seeds, leaves, bark, and fruit together with honey, flowers, and insects. However, they will also hunt monkeys and even small antelope!
Chimps have a wide diet.
©Naoto Shinkai/Shutterstock.com
The chimps in this clip are fishing for a freshwater green alga called Spirogyra sp. It is reported to contain plenty of protein, carbohydrates, and minerals. Scientists have suggested that the chimps are simply taking advantage of this convenient, seasonally available resource. And luckily, they know just how to do it!
Chimps Using Tools
There are several examples of chimps using tools to obtain food. They will strip a branch of its leaves and dip it into a termite hill to get the insects inside. Chimps will also use stones to crack nuts and make probes to extract honey.
Tool manufacture and use, however, is not a skill that chimps are born with. They learn from observing and imitating their mothers and other adults. Sometimes, mothers actively teach their offspring. It can take up to 15 years for a young chimp to master these skills, and research suggests that learning may continue well into adulthood. Also, different chimp groups practice different skills. The traditions are social and are passed down much like human culture.
Do All Chimps Fish for Algae?
This unique behavior has only been observed in a few chimp populations. It has been recorded in chimps living in the Bakoun Classified Forest in Guinea. In this chimp group, all ages and sexes fished in rivers, streams, and ponds using long sticks and twigs.
Chimps learn skills from watching their elders.
©Steffen Foerster/Shutterstock.com
They only did this during the dry season. Fishing sessions lasted for an average of around 9 minutes, but some went on for an hour. Another chimp population living in Bossou, south-eastern Guinea, has also been seen using plants to scoop up algae.
Do Chimps Swim?
The consensus of expert opinion is that chimps are not big fans of being in the water. They tend to sink because they have a low body fat ratio and a top-heavy body composition. That said, chimps have been seen splashing in shallow water, and captive chimps have been seen in swimming pools.
Animals like to expend as little energy as possible to get their food. The bottom line is that it’s much easier for these chimps to get their algae by dragging a stick through the water than by jumping in and grabbing handfuls of it!
