The red ape's surprise: tool-making wild orangutans rival chimps in creativity

Article Abstract:

Scientists studying wild orangutans in swampy Sumatra have discovered that the red apes in the region make tools for use in the wild. Previously, the only primate besides humans to make tools in the wild had been known to be chimps, although other primates have used them in captivity. The red apes were observed to construct a variety of tools for foraging, with individual tools for tasks, including many for getting fruit or honey. Each tool would be modified until it perfectly suited the job at hand. Scientists suspect that orangutans have used tools in certain geographical locations only to cease doing so later on.

Sumatra, Orangutan, Orangutans, Tool use in animals, Animal tool use

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Caught between two worlds: returning an orphaned chimpanzee to the wild is not easy

Article Abstract:

Caretakers for Bahati, an orphaned chimpanzee found in Uganda, discovered that reintegrating her into the wild would not be entirely successful. The five-year old chimp rescued from a poacher was taught food selecting, tree climbing, and escape techniques in the hopes of returning her to the wild. Despite great efforts by researchers and brief involvements with a group of wild chimps, Bahati frequently returned to the research facility. The chimp was eventually placed in a local zoo.

Chimpanzees, Captive wild animals

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Ghosts of the Gobi:tracking wild Bactrian camels

Article Abstract:

China's Xinjiang Environmental Protection Institute (XEPI) is working to save the Bactrian camel from extinction. The camel is one of the rarest and most threatened large mammals in the world, with numbers estimated between 250 and 350. XEPI has coordinated excursions into the Gobi Desert, the camel's habitat, to observe their behavior to assist in conservation efforts. Another expedition sponsored by the National Geographic Society is planned for 1999.

Behavior, Endangered species, Gobi Desert, Camels

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