Sumatran orangutans differ in their cultural knowledge but not in their cognitive abilities

Abstract

Animal cultures are controversial because the method used to isolate culture in animals aims at excluding genetic and environmental influences rather than demonstrating social learning. Here, we analyzed these factors in parallel in captivity to determine their influences on tool use. We exposed Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) orphans from tool-using and non-tool-using regions (western swamps and eastern Langkat, respectively) that differed in both genetic and cultural backgrounds to a raking task and a honey-dipping task to assess their understanding of stick use. Orangutans from both regions were equally successful in raking; however, swamp orangutans were more successful than Langkat orangutans in honey dipping, where previously acquired knowledge was required. A larger analysis suggested that the Alas River could constitute a geographical barrier to the spread of this cultural trait. Finally, honey-dipping individuals were on average less than 4 years old, but this behavior is not observed in the wild before 6 years of age. Our results suggest first that genetic differences between wild Sumatran populations cannot explain their differences in stick use; however, their performances in honey dipping support a cultural differentiation in stick knowledge. Second, the results suggest that the honey-dippers were too young when arriving at the quarantine center to have possibly mastered the behavior in the wild individually, suggesting that they arrived with preestablished mental representations of stick use or, simply put, "cultural ideas."