Researchers in Cameroon have seen gorillas use tools aggressively, and they’re targeting humans, according to the Daily Telegraph. The apes were observed throwing clumps of grass, earth, and in one case a stick, at humans.
“The area is largely isolated from other gorilla groups, but there are herdsmen on the mountain”, Jacqueline Sunderland Groves of the University of Sussex told the paper. “In one encounter a group of gorillas threw clumps of grass and soil at the researchers while acting aggressively. Another gorilla threw a branch. A third encounter saw the gorillas throwing soil at a local man who was throwing stones at the apes.”
Throwing earth at someone throwing stones doesn’t sound likely a hugely clever military tactic. It is a bit depressing that they might have learned this behaviour from people throwing stones at them – not to mention a little strange to think that there are people out there who think throwing stones at gorillas is a good idea. I’d think twice before enraging a gorilla, and the risk of it throwing earth at me would not be what I was afraid of.
Tool use in gorillas is actually a fairly new discovery. It was first seen in the wild in 2005 when some gorillas in northern Congo were seen testing water depth with a stick and using a shrub’s trunk as a stabilizer and then a bridge (research paper).
It’s not immediately clear where the Telegraph story comes from, but it’s got some bloggers intrigued. Wired, where I first noticed this, thinks it heralds a Planet of the Apes-esque takeover. This point and innumerable other references to the films have also been raised in the comments section of this Digg entry (don’t click the links though – there seems to be some nasty malware lurking there).
Image: Getty