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Science 19 May 2006:
Vol. 312. no. 5776, pp. 1038 - 1040
DOI: 10.1126/science.1125456
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Reports

Apes Save Tools for Future Use

Nicholas J. Mulcahy and Josep Call*

Planning for future needs, not just current ones, is one of the most formidable human cognitive achievements. Whether this skill is a uniquely human adaptation is a controversial issue. In a study we conducted, bonobos and orangutans selected, transported, and saved appropriate tools above baseline levels to use them 1 hour later (experiment 1). Experiment 2 extended these results to a 14-hour delay between collecting and using the tools. Experiment 3 showed that seeing the apparatus during tool selection was not necessary to succeed. These findings suggest that the precursor skills for planning for the future evolved in great apes before 14 million years ago, when all extant great ape species shared a common ancestor.

Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: call{at}eva.mpg.de

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