A U.S. researcher has found wild Brazilian capuchin monkeys regularly use large rocks as tools.
The small monkeys transport extremely heavy stones to an "anvil" site where they use them to crack palm nuts, which grow in clusters close to the ground, according to psychologist Dorothy Fragaszy of the University of Georgia. The monkeys would both hammer the nuts over and over or drop the rocks onto the nuts to break them open.
"One of the most significant things about this research is that we see the behavior in an entire population and not in isolated individuals," said Fragaszy, a top expert on capuchin monkeys and author of the study. "Also, it is the first time this behavior has been observed in wild capuchins."
There are a number of anvil sites in the area and a number of mysteries, she said. The stones can be quite heavy and some have come from far away. Moreover, some of the sites are hard to reach. The researchers are puzzled as to how the cat-sized monkeys were able to transport some of the heavy rocks over the formidable terrain.
© Copyright 2004 by United Press International
