A remarkable animal, belonging to the primate order like humans, has evolved an astonishing behavior: To cope with the summer drought in rivers, they dig wells.
Research from the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews (UK) and the School of Anthropology and Conservation at the University of Kent (USA) has monitored the emergence and spread of well-digging behavior in a wild chimpanzee community in East Africa.
A female chimpanzee digging a well in the East African rainforest – (Photo: Primate)
According to Sci-News, it all started with Onyofi, a young female who joined the community in 2015 and exhibited this seemingly human-like skill, quickly attracting the attention of other chimpanzees. Since then, several young and adult female Waibira chimpanzees have mimicked this behavior.
There have been no observations of adult males digging wells, but they frequently use the wells dug by other community members.
This behavior has allowed the chimpanzees to thrive amid the drought that was affecting East Africa at that time.
With the increasing changes in climate, this behavior helps communities like the Waibira chimpanzees to continue thriving.
Interestingly, Onyofi’s initial behavior, demonstrating proficient well-digging skills, suggests that she must have grown up in another community familiar with well-digging!
Additionally, according to senior author Catherine Hobaiter from the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews, they observed quite an interesting reaction from the males, including those with “high status” in the troop: They were very polite, waiting for Onyofi to finish drinking before using the well to drink water themselves.
The preliminary research has been published in the journal Primate, but the authors indicate that they will continue to monitor this fascinating community for many more years.
