I thought some people may find this interesting and/or worrying!
It has been reported in the journal Current Biology that Chimps in Senegal have been observed manufacturing spears and using them to hunt.
Chimpanzees have of course been observed all over the world using tools - in a total of 25 different contexts, however this is (With the exception of one adolescent female at Mahale, Tanzania observed using a branch to rouse a squirrel from a hollow branch) the first time tool-assisted hunting has been observed in any species except man.
One of the concluding paragraphs of the report may be of interest:
"The combination of hunting and tool use at Fongoli, behaviors long considered hallmarks of our own species, makes this population especially intriguing. The observation that individuals hunting with tools include females and immature chimpanzees suggests that we should rethink traditional explanations for the evolution of such behavior in our own lineage. Learning more about the unique behaviors of chimpanzees in such an environment, before they disappear, can provide important clues about the challenges facing our earliest ancestors."
http://www.current-biology.com/content/article/fulltext?uid=PIIS0960982207008019
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6387611.stm
It has been reported in the journal Current Biology that Chimps in Senegal have been observed manufacturing spears and using them to hunt.
Chimpanzees have of course been observed all over the world using tools - in a total of 25 different contexts, however this is (With the exception of one adolescent female at Mahale, Tanzania observed using a branch to rouse a squirrel from a hollow branch) the first time tool-assisted hunting has been observed in any species except man.
One of the concluding paragraphs of the report may be of interest:
"The combination of hunting and tool use at Fongoli, behaviors long considered hallmarks of our own species, makes this population especially intriguing. The observation that individuals hunting with tools include females and immature chimpanzees suggests that we should rethink traditional explanations for the evolution of such behavior in our own lineage. Learning more about the unique behaviors of chimpanzees in such an environment, before they disappear, can provide important clues about the challenges facing our earliest ancestors."
http://www.current-biology.com/content/article/fulltext?uid=PIIS0960982207008019
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6387611.stm