#Chimpanzee hand reaching driver#

These sticks sometimes surpassed 2 m in length, meaning they are the longest insect-hunting tools yet known to be used by the species.

#Chimpanzee hand reaching driver#

For example, for aggressive driver ants, they used a long thick stick to probe deep into the antsвЂ™ cavernous mounds. These chimpanzees were, in fact, very meticulous about how they used their tools. He found they use a range of tools to acquire insects and honey. Hicks was the first researcher who, with the help of local experts, was able to get close enough for long enough to develop a deep understanding of the way of life of these elusive great apes. For 12 years and across 20 different survey zones, the team collected information on tools, dung, diet and sleep to reveal a complex and thriving chimpanzee culture.

Working together with wildlife photographer Karl Ammann, The Wasmoeth Wildlife Foundation and the University of Amsterdam, Cleve Hicks and his team first documented the behaviour and distribution of the Bili-UГ©rГ© chimpanzees in 2004. This makes it the perfect spot to document the potential effects of ecological differences on animal behaviour.Дespite the logistical difficulties involved in reaching such a remote area, as well as the ever-present threat of malaria and the dangers of armed conflict, Hicks was keen to study and document how these chimpanzees live вЂ“ including tool making, feeding habits and sleeping style. Interestingly, this population of chimpanzees inhabits forest on one side of the river and savanna-woodland on the other. There were rumours about the existence of these extraordinary chimpanzees for years, but it wasnвЂ™t until recently that a team of researchers, led by primatologist Cleve Hicks, who is currently based at The Faculty of вЂArtes LiberalesвЂ™ at The University of Warsaw, were finally able to make their way across miles of thick tropical forest and crocodile-inhabited waters to study these animals.Д«ased on over 2,000 km of forest surveys over a region larger than 50,000 km2, Hicks and his team estimated that there were thousands or even tens of thousands of apes roaming the area, on both sides of a major river, the Uele. This population of apes, known as Bili-UГ©rГ© chimpanzees, exhibits some unusual behaviours, such as nesting on the ground like gorillas.

In one of the last remaining intact stretches of primeval wilderness in the world вЂ“ the Bili-UГ©rГ© region located in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo вЂ“ lives a large population of our close evolutionary cousins, the chimpanzees. He has been observing a special group of chimpanzees that have developed their own customs and traditions. In this episode we will be looking at the research of Dr Cleve Hicks from the University of Warsaw in Poland. Thank you for listening and joining us today. Dr Cleve Hicks from the University of Warsaw in Poland has been observing a special group of chimpanzees that have developed their own customs and traditions.Дespite the logistical difficulties involved in reaching a remote part of DR Congo, as well as the ever-present threat of malaria and the dangers of armed conflict, Hicks and his team managed to document how these chimpanzees live вЂ“ including tool making, feeding habits and sleeping style.