Home Animals These Tool-Wielding Animals Are Entering the Stone Age
Animals By Aisha Abdullah -

These Tool-Wielding Animals Are Entering the Stone Age
Image: Melanie Clapham

Bears Use Tools To Climb and Groom

Grizzly bears aren’t just fearsome hunters. They’re also highly-intelligent creatures that can use tools to acquire food. In a 2014 Washington State University study, researchers found that when the bears were presented with treats that hanging was just out of reach, they quickly figured out how to solve the problem. They pushed tree stumps under the dangling treats, then climbed on top to reap the rewards. The study wasn’t the first evidence that bears can use tools, although it was the most compelling. Brown bears have been observed using rocks covered in barnacles as part of their grooming regimen.

These Tool-Wielding Animals Are Entering the Stone Age
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Many Primates Use Loads of Grooming Tools

Grooming is a common trait across animals of all types. But primates are among a few animals that use tools to aid their grooming routine. Mandrills may look menacing, but the apes actually spend a good amount of time fussing over hygiene. They fashion a tool out of grass and sticks to clean out their ears and prevent ear infections. Some mandrills use whittle twigs to clean under their nails. Macaques in Thailand have been known to swipe hair straight from people’s heads to use as floss. Chimps use small sticks to groom their skin, and bonobos sometimes use “sponges” made of chewed leaves and moss.

 

Where Do We Find This Stuff? Here Are Our Sources:

11 Amazing Animals That Use Tools

10 Animals That Use Tools

13 Remarkable Animals That Use Tools

9 Animals That Use Tools (This is Amazing!)

7 Animals That Use Tools in Innovative Ways

Which animals use tools? 7 Unexpected Animals That Use Tools

Advertisement
Advertisement