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[Natasha Matza <natasha_primatesanctuary AT yahoo.com>]

Study shows apes can plan ahead
By Rebecca Morelle 
BBC News science reporter


Orangutans are our most distant great ape relatives
Bonobos and orangutans are capable of future planning,
according to a study published in the journal Science.

Researchers found the apes could select a suitable
tool for reaching a treat, carry it away, and return
with it to retrieve the reward hours later.

Forward planning is thought by some to be a uniquely
human trait.

The German team suggests such skills may have evolved
about 14 million years ago, when bonobos, orangutans
and humans shared a common ancestor.

This skill could have been present in the common
ancestor to all great apes  
Dr Josep Call
"We showed that individuals are able to pick up a
tool, transport it to a different location, keep it
there for at least an hour, and bring it back to solve
a problem," explained lead author Dr Josep Call, from
the Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

"Previous studies had shown that chimps and other
animals can transport tools to solve a problem on the
spot - so they will go and even make a tool and then
they will bring it to solve a problem.

"But the main difference with the tasks that we tried
is that here when they transport the tool and save it,
they have no use for the tool. They need to anticipate
that they will require it solve a problem in the
future."

The waiting room

The scientists investigated this with a series of
experiments.

In one of these, the apes were taught how to use a
tool to retrieve a treat from a piece of apparatus.

Then the researchers offered the apes a selection of
tools - some suitable, some not - but blocked their
immediate access to the reward. Instead, the apes were
led away to another location where they had to wait
for an hour before being returned to the original room
where, if they had selected the correct tool, they
could release their treat.

Six out of 16 times the apes successfully chose the
correct tool, kept it with them in the waiting room,
and then used it to access the reward.


The bonobos were able to forward plan
The team found the success rate was about the same
when they increased the waiting time to 14 hours -
enough time for the apes to sleep in between
collecting and using the tool.

"Traditional learning theory has a hard time
explaining this, and several scientists had postulated
that future planning is something beyond the
capabilities of animals, so we were very surprised to
see this," said Dr Call.

The scientists looked at bonobos and orangutans
because they represent our closest and most distant
great ape relatives, respectively. Humans and bonobos
evolved into separate lineages about five to seven
million years ago; orangutans about 14 million years
ago.

"Because both orangutans and bonobos showed the
ability to future plan in these tasks, this means this
skill could have been present in the common ancestor
to all great apes," Dr Call told the BBC News website.

Next, the team plans to investigate whether the apes
will protect their tool if they share the waiting room
with a competitor.

Natasha
Peaceable Primate Sanctuary
www.primatesanctuary.org

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