SOCIAL TRADITION AND THE USE OF TOOL-COMPOSITES BY WILD CHIMPANZEES

Many different kinds of tool use by wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in their natural habitat have been documented over the last 30 years. (1) Most instances involve the use of a single type of tool for a sing le task. Even when a chimpanzee uses more than one tool for a single t arget, the tools usually are used to perform the same function; for ex ample, when the first object employed to perform a task breaks, it is replaced by a similar object. Use of more than one kind of tool for a single task, a tool-composite, by wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) d emonstrates high intelligence and motor control which requires foresig ht, understanding of relations among tools and task, and behavioral co ordination. Application of tool-composites has been reported infrequen tly and may be due to their use in complicated environmental and situa tional contexts which chimpanzees encounter less frequently throughout their daily activities.