Tool use
February 6, 2010 by J.B. -
Chimpanzees are famous for their ability to use tools, but some individuals are more skilled than others. We know that human talent is a combination of genetics, early life experience, and practice, and the same is true with chimpanzees, I believe.
Jamie loves using tools. She could spend all day working on a project. I don’t think she’s as interested in the end result as she is in the process. Sometimes, when we are serving food, we accidentally drop a few pieces on the floor outside the enclosure. Jamie will spend the rest of the mealtime working to get those pieces, even though her caregivers are still giving out food.
Burrito, on the other hand, is just not a tool user. He has very limited patience, and he doesn’t seem to get that same flash of insight that spurs chimpanzees like Jamie to go fetch an appropriate tool. This doesn’t necessarily mean he is less intelligent. Most of the time, begging humans for help works just fine. But it does give you an idea why Burrito is not the alpha that he would like to be – Jamie is always one step ahead of him!
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For a minute there I thought Jamie would give the treat to Burrito! That was a great video to watch each one in their own way try to get the item out of their reach. Burrito did sound very appealing and I probably would have succumbed to his beautiful pleading eyes. 🙂 Thanks for the wonderful insight.
Jamie’s patience is pretty amazing. As is her ability to learn from each step she takes – “not that; not that either; I’ll try this different thing next.”
But Burrito – LOL – reminds me of a just fledged bird trying to beg food from a nearby parent (that tooth chattering on the cage wire was pretty cute). Is it possible he’ll learn from watching the others, especially as he matures?
That is absolutely fascinating! When Jamie first moved next to Burrito, I could imagine her saying, “Let me show you how it’s done.”
J.B. — I think you should take Jamie on as your assistant. At least on certain jobs. 🙂
Jamie is always one step ahead of ALL of us.
I have had the experience of trying to help Jamie get that one last piece of chow or other foods only to have her get very upset with me.
She is a “I’ll do it myself” kind of gal.
She is always one step ahead of ALL of us.
It sure took Burrito long enough to get out of the way! Poor Jamie had to work around him for most of the video.
A truly brilliant video! I, too, thought Jamie might be feeling philanthropic and just give poor Burrito the piece of chow. Nooooot so much, haha. I noticed he looked away from the action through most of the video, instead of watching and learning. I wonder if it was an act of submission?
If I worked at CSNW, I know I would let Burrito absolutely get away with murder. I wouldn’t be able to say no to those eyes or that pouting! He is too cute for his own good!
I agree, Felicity. Those pleading eyes and raspberries would get to me every time…LOL. Jamie’s patience is remarkable. If she can’t get it one way she will try another. Such a smart girl!
One thing that I didn’t mention, which Denice alludes to, is that some of the other chimps would not allow us to give that piece of chow to Burrito even if we wanted to. Chimps are very territorial and their territory often extends beyond the physical confines of their enclosure. For some of the chimps, any food that falls within about a foot of the caging becomes their property. Giving that piece to Burrito would most likely have upset one of the other chimps, and possibly even gotten Burrito in trouble. So we’ve gotten pretty good at ignoring Burrito’s requests 🙂
Anna – This is just my personal opinion, but I doubt that Burrito’s tool-using ability (or lack thereof) will change much at this point in his life.