Migrant orangutans learn a lot about food by watching the locals
New Leakey Foundation-supported research shows how orangutans use observational social learning to find and process new kinds of foods when moving to new areas.
How young orangutans learn
Young orangutans must acquire a vast set of skills and knowledge as they grow. They do this through several years of observational social learning and practice. New research shows that growing female and male orangutans pay attention to different types of individuals.
Chimpanzees more likely to share tools, teach skills when task is complex
Teach a chimpanzee to fish for insects to eat, and you feed her for a lifetime. Teach her a better way to use tools in gathering prey, and you may change the course of evolution.
From the Field: Stephanie Musgrave, Goualougo Triangle, Republic of the Congo
Leakey Foundation grantee Stephanie Musgrave has been in the field with the Goualougo Triangle Ape Project in the Republic of the Congo where she studies how the chimpanzees there make and use tools to gather termites and other resources such as ants, honey, seeds, and marrow.
Our Inner Scientist
Join Alison Gopnik for an evening exploring how understanding babies’ and young children’s ability to acquire abstract knowledge has transformed how we view human nature itself.
Human beings have a longer childhood than any other animal, and during this childhood we are helpless and dependent. This long period of helplessness is responsible for our uniquely human consciousness and our ability