chimpThey may not have mastered Twitter just yet but a group of African chimpanzees have apparently developed “stick 2.0″ — a brush-tipped tool which the clever creatures use to “fish” for termites.

Researchers studying the group in the Goualougo Triangle region of the Democratic Republic of Congo have recorded footage of the chimpanzees shaping the frayed edges of their tools with their teeth. The chimps then thrust the sticks into a termite nest and scoop out the insects as they bite on the end.

While the chimps had previously been observed using the technique, researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, were unsure whether the brush-like end of the stick was a deliberate improvement or merely a result of repeated use.

Now remote camera footage that captures the creatures creating the tools has solved the conundrum. “They have invented a way to improve their termite-fishing technique,” lead researcher Crickette Sanz told the BBC.

To make the tools, the chimps first pick a plant stem. They then strip off the leaves before running the stem through their teeth to fray the end and then pulling the fibres apart with their fingers.

“The chimps seem to understand the function of the tool and its importance in gathering termites,” said Sanz. Further research has shown that the frayed tip tool collects up to 10 times more termites than its pointed predecessor, according to the study published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.

The Goualougo Triangle group are the only chimpanzees known to have discovered the technique, suggesting the apes may be teaching the skill to their fellow group members.

But Sanz said many areas of Central Africa remained unstudied and said other undiscovered groups of chimps could also have examples of complex tool use. So watch this space for news of the first chimp with an iPhone.

Click here to follow the Goualougo Triangle Ape Project’s work, or check out the Chimpcam Video of the Week and more of the group’s YouTube footage of the chimpanzees.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at 5:43 pm and is filed under Mammals, Primates, Wild, apes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.