Tool Use

For the last couple decade the definition of being human (and separate from animals) has relied on the concept of tool use. Humans use tools, animals don't. After our definitions which were based on language, culture, and emotions were thrown out, we had to settle on tool usage. When it was determined that chimpanzees use tools to gain access to food, we started to lose what little ground we had. Over the past several decades we have found species after species that uses tools to make things simpler or gain access to resources. So this definition will eventually be busted as well.
British scientists have been working with rooks (same family as crows) for many years and are amazed by their clever use (and even invention) of tools. These are not trained behavior but are the result of problem solving. I watched a video recently where a rook lowered a hooked piece of plastic that it had been given into a beaker in order to snag a tiny little bucket with treats. The scientists were impressed by this. The rook then carried the bucket to the top of it's cage to eat the treat. When it couldn't reach it with it's beak, it hopped back down to the hook and fished the food out with that. Impressive tool use and understanding of how the tool worked.

This past week, scientists found evidence of tool use in octopuses. Divers took video of an octopus finding and unburying a coconut shell. It hollowed the shell out and then carried it along the ocean bottom. If attacked it will overturn the shell and hide under it. Or if it finds two shells it will bring them together to form a protective ball. Octopuses have long been known for their intelligence but the use of tools had not been documented in the species before. Another crack in the human/animal definition. This video has been circling the internet for a couple days now, partially because of it's amazing discovery but mostly because it's pretty funny to watch the octopus run. If nothing else I hope it reminds people that animals are far smarter than we give them credit for. And tool use is no longer a valid difference.

Image by Roger Steene (courtesy of BBC)

Wonderous Wildlife

I both love and dread animal news. So much of the news tends to be terrible. We do some awful things to animals. And so many of these stories make me angry. But these past two days have been great for animal stories. Particularly water-based animals.

In Thailand a 770 pound stingray was caught. This amazing animal was brought up using a fishing pole and required the strength of 13 men. I would have stopped reading there, thinking this was a commercial fisherman and that the animal had been killed but I kept going. This angler was part of a tagging program. This huge (7ft by 7ft) female was tagged and returned to the wild which is a wonderful thing since she was pregnant. Imagine a whole family of these beautiful creatures gliding soundlessly over the bottom of the ocean. I've been diving with rays and they are unbelievable beautiful in their element. As one gliding below me I held my breath and watched it for as long as I could. I could have reached down and easily touched it. It was a magical moment. And to see an animal like this brought in and then returned is wonderful.

The octopus was not nearly as nice but still an interesting story. An octopus at the Santa Monica Aquarium decided that it was tired of the water pipe that fed water into its tank. It used one of its powerful tenticles to push the tube out of the cage, slowly flooding the aquarium floor with water. Unfortunately it was a brand new floor and it might not be salvagable. But think of how incredible this story is. This tiny little creature (only a pound or two) was smart enough to figure out how to solve its own problem. In high school I helped out in a marine biology lab here in town and there was an ongoing mystery. Fish kept disappearing from the tanks. At night they would count the fish and the next morning some would be gone. We had no idea what was happening. So one night they finally caught the culpret. The octopus in one of the rows was sneaking out of its tank, into nearby ones, and eating the fish. Then returning to its own tank. Yeah they are that smart!!

And of course my favorite animal story of the last two weeks has to be Sam the koala. This image above completely reaffirmed my faith in humanity. The video does it even more as firefighter David Tree scrambles to find water for the koala. This random act of kindness fills me with joy and hope that we sometimes remember that these creatures are our neighbors. I hope to see more stories like these three. Although perhaps with a little less flooding.