Chimps Deliberately Teach Their Offspring Tool Tricks by Handing Over Implements

Researchers from the University of Barcelona and the Jane Goodall Institute Spain, working at the Dindefelo Community Nature Reserve in Senegal, collected nearly 15 hours of camera-trap footage between 2017 and 2025 across 14 locations. Analysis revealed 33 instances of voluntary tool transfer and 3 failed attempts. Of the transfers, 58% involved ant-dipping (using a twig to collect ants), 30% algae fishing, and 12% termite fishing. Adults — predominantly female — initiated 58% of transfers, while infants received 42%. In all but one case, the recipient initiated the transfer. One documented case showed an adult female named Soukki leaving a twig in an ant nest, bringing her infant Saïsaï over, and allowing the infant to pull out the twig and eat the collected ants. In another, a juvenile physically guided an infant named Fotti's hand to help him pound open a baobab fruit. The study frames tool transfer as a deliberate teaching strategy — requiring an active role from the teacher — rather than passive observation. The findings add to growing evidence that complex cultural transmission exists beyond humans.