Gorillas more than just ‘the big brutes in the forest’

FOR the first time, biologists have documented gorillas in the wild using simple tools, such as poking a stick in a swampy pool of water to check its depth.

Until now, scientists had seen gorillas use tools only in captivity. Tool use in the wild was thought to be a survival skill reserved for smaller chimpanzees and orangutans.

The research in the Republic of Congo was led by Thomas Breuer of the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo in New York.