Work

Tool use for corpse cleaning in chimpanzees

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: For the first time, chimpanzees have been observed using tools to clean the corpse of a deceased group member. A female chimpanzee sat down at the dead body of a young male, selected a firm stem of grass, and started to intently remove debris from his teeth. This report contributes novel behaviour to the chimpanzee's ethogram, and highlights how crucial information for reconstructing the evolutionary origins of human mortuary practices may be missed by refraining from developing adequate observation techniques to capture non-human animals' death responses.

Source: Scientific Reports

DOI: 10.1038/srep44091

Authors: Edwin J. C. van Leeuwen, Katherine A. Cronin, Daniel B. M. Haun

Institutions: University of St Andrews, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Lincoln Park Zoo, Leipzig University

Language: English

Topic: Primate Behavior and Ecology

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,563

Funder: Max Planck Instituut voor Psycholinguïstiek