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. 2012 Oct;53(5):650-663.
doi: 10.1086/666943.

The Appearance and Spread of Ant Fishing among the Kasekela Chimpanzees of Gombe: A Possible Case of Intercommunity Cultural Transmission

Robert C O'Malley  1 , William Wallauer  1 , Carson M Murray  1 , Jane Goodall  1
Affiliations

The Appearance and Spread of Ant Fishing among the Kasekela Chimpanzees of Gombe: A Possible Case of Intercommunity Cultural Transmission

Robert C O'Malley et al. Curr Anthropol. 2012 Oct.

Abstract

Chimpanzees exhibit cultural variation, yet examples of successful cultural transmission between wild communities are lacking. Here we provide the first account of tool-assisted predation ("ant fishing") on Camponotus ants by the Kasekela and Mitumba communities of Gombe National Park. We then consider three hypotheses for the appearance and spread of this behavior in Kasekela: (1) changes in prey availability or other environmental factors, (2) innovation, and (3) introduction. Ant fishing was recognized as habitual in the Mitumba community by 1992, soon after their habituation began. Apart from one session in 1978, Camponotus predation (typically with tools) was documented in the Kasekela community beginning only in 1994, despite decades of prior observation. By February 2010, ant fishing was customary in Kasekela and with one exception was practiced exclusively by chimpanzees born after 1981 and immigrant females. We hypothesize that changes in insect prey availability over time and/or the characteristics of one popular ant-fishing site may have influenced the establishment of ant fishing. Though innovation cannot be completely ruled out, the circumstantial evidence suggests that a Mitumba immigrant introduced ant fishing to Kasekela. We submit that this report represents the first documented case of successful transmission of a novel cultural behavior between wild chimpanzee communities.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of Gombe National Park, showing the 2008 Kasekela community range and the locations of Camponotus predation sessions during the 2008–2010 study period.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Ant fishing by an adolescent male chimpanzee in 2008.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Ant fishing at the favored Anisophyllea pomifera tree at Hilltop in 2010.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Spread of Camponotus predation in the Kasekela community between 1990 and 2010. The suspected Camponotus predator in 1995 is Trezia.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Known Camponotus predators in the Kasekela community (in white), sorted by immigration status and age. These demographic counts exclude individuals who died at <2 years old or who were <2 years old in February 2010, since they are likely too young to have exhibited the behavior.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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