I don't know if t his was specifically gorillas (gothpanda can help me out if she reads this) but I know we've talked about a group of primates who all wash their food before eating it. it's a learned behavior that they pick up from their parents rather than any sort of instinct (studies show) and they have a lo9wer instance of illness than other primates. Neat stuff. I'll bet she can link it if she gets on here today.
I remember hearing about some kind of monkey in Japan, or some other Asian country, doing that. Some like it was when people would dump sweet potatoes on the beach and the monkeys would wash the sand off in the water (which gave it a pleasant salty taste, too) before eating them. Smart monkeys.
Japanese Macaques, a kind of monkey. The Macaques are doing it becaues they like a) less sand on their food, and b) like salt on their food (it's sea water they're using). These are also the monkeys that when it's really cold out, go and sit in a volcanic hotspring. Which makes so much sense it's ridiculous.
Other wacky tool-use in primates: bonobo apes, like most of the great apes, make a nest every night to sleep in out of branches, leaves, etc. Once a bonobo is in its nest for the night, the others leave him alone to sleep. If a bonobo wants a time out during the day from others bothering it, he'll make a "fake nest", nothing more than just a few branches bent in a circle, and sit in it. It's a crappy nest, and he doesn't even try to sleep in it, but everyone else respects his personal space and leaves him alone for a while.
The bonobos have better social skills than a fair number of people I have to be exposed to on any given day, how soon can we have some in as replacements for defective coworkers?
Bonobos, from the little I know about them, really *do* seem generally better socialized than people. Possibly this would change if I could hear bonobo gossip; at the moment it's just kind of depressing.
Have you considered the potential downside of importing hairy, stupid cow-orkers who believe that sex is an appropriate social greeting, regardless of the gender of the individuals involved?
You can always just build your little circle and ignore them. The monkeys I work with now are smart enough to open a door, but haven't figured out that it's closed for a reason.
They dive for shellfish, and then find a flat rock. Then they lay on their backs in the water, put the rock on their chests, and smash the shellfish on the rock until it cracks and they can get at the meat.
Yeah, but Gorillas were the only species of Great Ape that had so far *not* been observed in the wild to use tools. So it's basically a loophole closing in the face of the evolution-is-bullshit people.
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(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-30 11:38 am (UTC)I kill your lame ass pun now!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-30 12:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-30 01:17 pm (UTC)Smart monkeys.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-30 01:58 pm (UTC)Other wacky tool-use in primates: bonobo apes, like most of the great apes, make a nest every night to sleep in out of branches, leaves, etc. Once a bonobo is in its nest for the night, the others leave him alone to sleep. If a bonobo wants a time out during the day from others bothering it, he'll make a "fake nest", nothing more than just a few branches bent in a circle, and sit in it. It's a crappy nest, and he doesn't even try to sleep in it, but everyone else respects his personal space and leaves him alone for a while.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-30 02:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-30 02:27 pm (UTC)Bonobos, from the little I know about them, really *do* seem generally better socialized than people. Possibly this would change if I could hear bonobo gossip; at the moment it's just kind of depressing.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-30 02:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-30 02:43 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-30 02:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-30 02:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-30 03:31 pm (UTC)What they are referring to is the use of things that is not immediately obvious, like rocks to break open nuts, sticks to reach food and the like.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-09-30 07:10 pm (UTC)They dive for shellfish, and then find a flat rock. Then they lay on their backs in the water, put the rock on their chests, and smash the shellfish on the rock until it cracks and they can get at the meat.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-01 07:59 pm (UTC)