Tool use among Baboons at Gombe

The use of tools (a functional use of an object to achieve an immediate goal) was attributed only to humans as a discriminatory virtue until Jane Goodall’s discoveries.

Baboons at Gombe National Park were using objects to wipe their mouth. One of them used tree trunks or stones to remove the dried juice from his mouth during the season of a seed with juice (Diplorhynchus condylocarpon). Another baboon after a fighting used a maize kernel to remove the coagulated blood from his mouth. The use of maize kernel was an even smarter choice since it is much softer than a stone. Chimpanzees have been observed of similar behavior. They use leaves to wipe dirt and blood from their bodies. This wiping behavior is interestingly very similar to the human napkin use!