Chimp knows to do fishing rods

German scientists believe that they have found the secret of chimpanzee's ability to catch the clue.

Expert group of Evolutionary Anthropology Institute Max Planck (Germany) uses a remote camera to record many chimpanzees in CH Congo as they search for insects to eat. They found that the animals always held fishing rods, which were branches of a tree, that had been put on one end to lure in the climb.

A fishing rod of chimpanzees in Congo.Photo: BBC.

To make a fishing rod, chimp breaks or picks up a few branches of Marantaceae and cuts off the leaves. They put the branches up to their mouths and used one tooth to bite them. Sometimes chimpanzees separate the grains from the crushed part from each other so that they can catch more.

During the follow-up process, the team found that the branches that had been bruised at one end helped chimpanzees catch 10 times more clues than when they were using sharp-edged branches. "Chimpanzees not only understand the function of fishing rods, but also know how to improve and replace hunting tools , " said Dr. Crickette Sanz, lead researcher.

The act of biting a head of a tree branch to make a fishing rod does not appear in chimpanzees in eastern and western African countries. So scientists think it's not the instinctive behavior of chimpanzees. Thus, chimpanzees in Congo have learned how to make a fishing rod through learning from each other.

The team said they would continue to find out if any of the chimpanzees in Congo could make other kinds of tools.