Chimps armed with spears

[Clobhair-cean]

Its seems that our furry little cousins are constructing sharp-tipped spears in order to injure/kill hiding animals. Chimpanzees have been noted for using other tools before, but this is something new, and personally I think it is amazing. This is not a simple, get-a-stick-and-get-some-ants-out action, it needs abstract thinking and significant alteration of the environment (breaking off the branch, getting the bark off and sharpening it.)

In due course, they'll be hacking into the Pentagon with one of those 100 dollar laptops.

The bbc.com article

[frogfish]

Chimps have already been known to go on organized hunts for "sport". It's quite amazing.

[Spurious George]

Not long now...... muahahahaha

Very interesting article, thanks

[Cerbero]

wow!! I guess its another example that proves our primitive taste for killing and starting wars, MANKIND=CHIMPKIND??

[__Kratos__]

They won't be nearly human till they start having wars with those spears.

Pretty amazing though that they are using spears. It makes me wonder how did they learned how to use spears?

[frogfish]

It makes me wonder how did they learned how to use spears

Better yet, how did MAN learn to use spears...from their tool-using ancestors (who were ancestors of the chimps too)?

It could go either way!

[OlDrippy34]

An army of spear wielding chimps would probably baffle an enemy into submission.

[glynne64]

Spears don't kill people. Chimps with spears kill people! (Sorry, couldn't resist taking a little poetic licence with a great movie line---my bad )

Chimps have been known to use tools for a long time. It is possible this type of action has been going on for a long time it just was never seen. I don't think we know all there is to know about chimps, other apes or any other animal. There is more to know. Not only that, but they learn & evolve within their own species as well. Humans aren't the only creatures who learn.

[Cadetak]

Ive seen this movie before...it didn't turn out good for us.

[girty1600]

Ive seen this movie before...it didn't turn out good for us.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo! You blew it up!!!!!

[__Kratos__]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo! You blew it up!!!!!

That was our planet!

[Mad Manfred]

So they have sticks. Whoop-de-doo. We have nukes. Bring it on, hairbags!

[Clobhair-cean]

So they have sticks. Whoop-de-doo. We have nukes. Bring it on, hairbags!

Mind you, they also have bananas...

[Grandpa Greenman]

I wonder how long it will take them to figure out they can use them for defense. I can see it now a guy out hunting chimps for dinner ends up being dinner for the chimps. Ahhh revenge is sweet.

[m. Moe]

So they have sticks. Whoop-de-doo. We have nukes. Bring it on, hairbags!

A war with chimps would be quite entertaining....

[Isis2200]

Its seems that our furry little cousins are constructing sharp-tipped spears in order to injure/kill hiding animals. Chimpanzees have been noted for using other tools before, but this is something new, and personally I think it is amazing. This is not a simple, get-a-stick-and-get-some-ants-out action, it needs abstract thinking and significant alteration of the environment (breaking off the branch, getting the bark off and sharpening it.)

In due course, they'll be hacking into the Pentagon with one of those 100 dollar laptops.

The bbc.com article

Yep, looks like our furry little cousins are evolving.

[HAJiME]

It's not evolution, it's learning. They have the capability to do amazing things, they just need to work it out and then pass that knowledge on.

If Gorillas can learn sign language, then this doesn't REALLY suprise me.

[PlasmaFighter]

I betcha' all 10 bucks by 2010 they'll be speaking broken English....

[Raptor]

I betcha' all 10 bucks by 2010 they'll be speaking broken English....

There are actually apes who have already been able to communicate efficiently with humans using different methods. A chimp named Washoe and an urangutan named Chantek both learnt to communicate over two hundred seperate words using sign language and understand over a thousand more.

The most amazing is probably Kanzi, a bonobo. He's able to communicate hundreds of different words using a diagram of printed symbols. But it's been reported that he's vocalized several words (in bonobo language...'bonobian'?) to other bonobo's, who've understood what he's telling them.