in some ways they look and act much like
us now come stunning new evidence that
gorillas may also think like us this
incredible series of photographs taken
deep in the African Congo and revealed
here
for the first time show what some
researchers thought was impossible proof
that while gorillas can think through
problems and like humans they can make
and use tools to solve those problems
Wildlife Conservation Society scientist
Emma Stokes and Thomas Brewer believe
the discovery gives us new insight into
the mind of the great ape Thomas’s
observation of tweezing behavior by
gorillas in Bali was was it was a
fantastic discovery it was made here in
this remote research outpost head in
belly by
a swampy forest clearing in the northern
Congo where frolicking elephants create
pools of turgid water
one morning Brewer witnesses something
extraordinary and manages to capture it
on film a female gorilla named Lea grabs
a stick and appears to use it as a tool
to measure the depth of the water before
crossing a patch of swampy ground this
is an amazing and scientifically
important moment but for Brewer is also
a very familiar experience when I I
cross a swamp
I always use kind of stake to test the
water deepness and what’s fascinating is
that these gorillas found exactly the
minds domain the same solution to this
problem with these extraordinary
photographs WCS scientists for the first
time have documented the use of tools
among wild gorillas something never seen
before we know that in the in the past
we claim that Tullius is a unique
feature of our own species but we know
that that not the case any longer
animals are able to plan their thing and
they define a solution to a problem for
years now we’ve known some animals use
tools especially in the pursuit of food
these chimpanzees are experts at
brandishing clubs to crack open nuts
passing their skills on to the next
generation
they use sticks to fish out insects and
leaves like cups to scoop up water but
until now while gorillas were not
considered tool users some in captivity
have used sticks to eke out a tasty
treat but this behavior was never
observed in the wild and there was more
in another stroke of luck
one month later Brewer witnesses a
second gorilla inventing a tool a female
named Effie drives a branch into the
ground and uses it as an anchor as she
reaches into the water ape sit and belly
by have been known to hang on to trees
in order to pull themselves from the
swamps but this is the first time a
gorilla is seen creating a structure to
support its weight this stunning new
evidence shows that when presented with
a challenge gorillas to have the ability
to use tools to cope with their
environment much like humans do such
discoveries may help us understand our
own evolution how our earliest ancestors
made the cognitive leap to grasp the
possibilities of engineering it just
goes to show the kinds of benefits you
can see from a long-term research
presence in somewhere like in Berlin by
we could be here for hundreds of years
and still not truly uncover all the
secrets of the forest have to offer
this important research gives us a
glimpse into the minds of one of our
nearest animal relatives and perhaps
into the mists of our own distant past
us now come stunning new evidence that
gorillas may also think like us this
incredible series of photographs taken
deep in the African Congo and revealed
here
for the first time show what some
researchers thought was impossible proof
that while gorillas can think through
problems and like humans they can make
and use tools to solve those problems
Wildlife Conservation Society scientist
Emma Stokes and Thomas Brewer believe
the discovery gives us new insight into
the mind of the great ape Thomas’s
observation of tweezing behavior by
gorillas in Bali was was it was a
fantastic discovery it was made here in
this remote research outpost head in
belly by
a swampy forest clearing in the northern
Congo where frolicking elephants create
pools of turgid water
one morning Brewer witnesses something
extraordinary and manages to capture it
on film a female gorilla named Lea grabs
a stick and appears to use it as a tool
to measure the depth of the water before
crossing a patch of swampy ground this
is an amazing and scientifically
important moment but for Brewer is also
a very familiar experience when I I
cross a swamp
I always use kind of stake to test the
water deepness and what’s fascinating is
that these gorillas found exactly the
minds domain the same solution to this
problem with these extraordinary
photographs WCS scientists for the first
time have documented the use of tools
among wild gorillas something never seen
before we know that in the in the past
we claim that Tullius is a unique
feature of our own species but we know
that that not the case any longer
animals are able to plan their thing and
they define a solution to a problem for
years now we’ve known some animals use
tools especially in the pursuit of food
these chimpanzees are experts at
brandishing clubs to crack open nuts
passing their skills on to the next
generation
they use sticks to fish out insects and
leaves like cups to scoop up water but
until now while gorillas were not
considered tool users some in captivity
have used sticks to eke out a tasty
treat but this behavior was never
observed in the wild and there was more
in another stroke of luck
one month later Brewer witnesses a
second gorilla inventing a tool a female
named Effie drives a branch into the
ground and uses it as an anchor as she
reaches into the water ape sit and belly
by have been known to hang on to trees
in order to pull themselves from the
swamps but this is the first time a
gorilla is seen creating a structure to
support its weight this stunning new
evidence shows that when presented with
a challenge gorillas to have the ability
to use tools to cope with their
environment much like humans do such
discoveries may help us understand our
own evolution how our earliest ancestors
made the cognitive leap to grasp the
possibilities of engineering it just
goes to show the kinds of benefits you
can see from a long-term research
presence in somewhere like in Berlin by
we could be here for hundreds of years
and still not truly uncover all the
secrets of the forest have to offer
this important research gives us a
glimpse into the minds of one of our
nearest animal relatives and perhaps
into the mists of our own distant past
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