Researchers show that orangutans do not need to be taught how to use a hammer

Using an object to crack nuts is considered one of the most complex tool-using behaviors in the animal kingdom. So far, only chimpanzees, capuchins and macaques have been observed cracking nuts with such tools in the wild. In a new study, Dr. Elisa Bandini and Dr. Claudio Tennie from Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology at the University of Tübingen investigated whether other primate species such as orangutans also crack nuts with tools and how the animals can learn to do so. Of twelve orangutans living in zoos, four spontaneously and successfully used the proffered wooden hammers for this purpose even though they were not able to copy the behavior from others. The study is published in the American Journal of Primatology.