An Orangutan Learns to Fish

In 1990, while visiting a research camp in central Borneo, the primatologist Anne Russon saw an orangutan nicknamed Supinah attempt to make fire. Supinah sauntered toward an ashy fire pit, picked up a stick glowing with embers, and dipped it into a nearby cup full of liquid. Russon thought that the cup contained water, but … Read more

Tool-wielding monkeys push local shellfish to edge of extinction

Don’t eat all the shellfish Mark MacEwen / NaturePL Don’t eat all the shellfish Mark MacEwen / NaturePL HUMANS aren’t the only primate to have pushed their prey towards extinction. Monkeys have also over-exploited animals for food. Long-tailed macaques forage for shellfish on islands off Thailand, then crack them open with stone tools. They target … Read more

Orangutans Use Simple Tools to Catch Fish

MINNEAPOLIS — Orangutans swim about as well as they fly, but research on three Indonesian islands shows that these long-limbed apes nonetheless catch and eat fish. [partner id=”sciencenews” align=”right”]Orangutans living in Borneo scavenge fish that wash up along the shore and scoop catfish out of small ponds for fresh meals, anthropologist Anne Russon of York … Read more