Preliminary Assessment of Methods Used to Demonstrate Nut-Cracking Behavior to Five Captive Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

• Published in: Folia primatologica Vol. 81; no. 4; pp. 224 - 232
• Main Authors: Ross, S.R, Milstein, M.S, Calcutt, S.E, Lonsdorf, E.V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Netherlands Brill 01.12.2010; Karger; S. Karger AG
• Subjects: Animal ethology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Conspecifics; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects. Techniques; Imitative Behavior; Learning; Male; Mammalia; Methods and techniques (sampling, tagging, trapping, modelling...); Nuts; Original Article; Pan troglodytes - psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Sex Factors; Social Environment; Tool Use Behavior; Vertebrata; Nut-cracking skill acquisition; Human demonstration; Video; Chimpanzee; Master-apprentice relationship; Feeding behavior; Nuts; Pan troglodytes; Video recording; Man animal relation; Learning; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Investigation method; Primates; Simioidea; Captivity; Tool use
• ISSN: 0015-5713; 1421-9980
• DOI: 10.1159/000322118

Chimpanzees acquire nut-cracking skills by observation and trial and error. Studies of captive chimpanzees have shown the effectiveness of a skilled demonstrator. We examined the effectiveness of 3 live demonstration forms from which subjects could learn nut-cracking skills: a video of proficient conspecifics, human demonstration and the presence of a skilled conspecific performing the task. A male subject did not learn to crack open nuts after viewing a video of proficient conspecifics but quickly learned the skill following a demonstration by a human facilitator. Subsequently, 4 female chimpanzees were given the opportunity to learn the skill from the now proficient male, as well as from a video and human demonstration, but failed to do so.