Buzz
What truly sets humans apart from the other creatures on Earth? It's not our opposable thumbs, our penchant for warfare, or our ability to pass down knowledge and culture to future generations. In fact, we only have a few million years of head start in some of these areas. Yet, as researchers are discovering, many animal species are beginning to close the gap.
These ten animals have begun using tools to alter their surroundings in some remarkably unexpected ways. Just a heads-up, we’ve tried to minimize the use of primates here, as monkeys are already doing some mind-blowing things all around the world, and it’s almost too predictable now.
10. Crows Apply Science to Reach Worms
Crows have been observed creating tools and even using cars to assist in obtaining food. Some birds utilize the principle of water displacement to retrieve otherwise inaccessible insects from water sources.
Crows are widely regarded as one of the most intelligent bird species, coming just behind parrots. They've been seen using tools in the wild in various creative ways, such as shaping sticks to the perfect length for extracting bugs from logs and dropping nuts in front of moving cars to crack them open. But their problem-solving skills go even further than this.
Christopher Bird, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, has recently demonstrated that rooks (members of the same family as crows) know how to use stones to raise the water level in a glass tube to access food, a concept known as displacement. The rooks were given a glass tube partially filled with water, containing a floating worm. Unable to reach the worm, the rooks started dropping stones into the water to increase its level. It wasn’t random—the birds figured out how many stones they needed, rather than simply dropping stones and hoping for the best.
9. Dolphins Craft Sponge Masks for Protection
Resourceful dolphins create masks out of sea sponges to shield their faces while searching for food on the sea-bed.
Dolphins are highly intelligent creatures, excelling at communication, but typically they don’t use tools, likely because they are already perfectly adapted to finding food in their environments—echolocation allows them to detect virtually any movement in the water. However, in a surprising twist in their eating habits, dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia have started hunting bottom-dwelling fish like sandperch, which are more nutritious.
The challenge with these fish is that they are difficult to locate using echolocation, forcing dolphins to search through the treacherous, rocky sea floor for their meal. The solution? Dolphins have started tearing off patches of sea sponge and placing them over their snouts like a glove. This helps protect their sensitive snouts from the rough rocks and sharp coral while hunting. When a sandperch is startled, it darts away but doesn’t immediately bury itself, giving the dolphin enough time to drop its sponge, surface for air, and dive again to catch the fish.
8. Octopuses Use Siphonophore Tentacles as Weapons
Blanket octopuses tear off the venomous tentacles of siphonophores to use them as weapons in battles with predators.
The blanket octopus stands out among its octopus relatives. Rather than using ink for defense, it has a large membrane between its tentacles that can make it appear much larger, scaring off potential threats. But the truly remarkable aspect is that this octopus has been seen tearing off the tentacles of the Portuguese Man O’ War and using them as weapons like a deep-sea version of Whiplash from Iron Man 2. The blanket octopus is immune to the siphonophore’s venom, making it safe to wield the stinging tentacles as a defensive tool.
7. Macaques Use Human Hair for Flossing
A group of monkeys in Thailand has been seen plucking hair from tourists and using it to floss their teeth after meals.
Many items on this list can be understood through the English saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” If an animal can’t access its food, it finds a new way to reach it. But explain that to the long-tailed macaques in Thailand, who use human hair as dental floss. This strange behavior has only been observed in one particular group of macaques near a Buddhist shrine. The monkeys climb onto the backs of visitors and pluck out strands of hair, then run off to clean their teeth for a few minutes.
Researchers have been observing these monkeys for a while, and they’ve discovered that mothers teach their infants how to floss, demonstrating the process slowly in front of them, passing down the behavior to future generations. What remains unclear, however, is WHY they do this, since it doesn't seem to offer any direct survival advantage.
6. Rodents Use Rakes to Retrieve Food
Degus, similar to chinchillas, have been observed using small rakes to access food that’s out of reach beneath a fence.
Mice and other rodents are frequently used to create models for studying learning behavior, but until now, they have never been taught to use tools. Their paws aren’t designed for manipulating tools, so rodents are usually involved in memory-based tasks (such as running mazes or pressing buttons). However, researchers at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research in Japan have been studying degus, which are similar to chinchillas.
The researchers placed the degus on one side of a plastic fence, with a seed just out of reach on the other side. They then gave the degus a small rake, which the rodents used to pull the seed to their side of the fence. While this may not seem extraordinary by itself, it is significant because it marks the first time rodents have been shown to understand the use of tools.
5. Herons Craft Lures to Make Hunting Easier
Striated herons sharpen twigs to create lures for catching fish.
Many bird species use tools to find food, often in the form of twigs or thorns that help them reach into crevices to grab grubs. However, the striated heron uses a more passive method: these herons have been observed using objects as bait, dropping them into the water, and waiting for fish to approach the bait. The lures can be insects, twigs, breadcrumbs, or pieces of leaves.
What’s even more remarkable is that striated herons not only use existing objects as lures, but they also craft their own by whittling down twigs to the perfect size, essentially creating tools to serve a specific purpose. Researchers have observed that younger herons are less skilled at making tools, but as they grow older, they gain expertise and begin crafting more effective lures based on their experiences.
4. Dresser Crabs Create Their Own Camouflage
Dresser crabs use pieces of seaweed to disguise themselves, attaching them to small hooks on their shells to hide from predators.
While many animals use tools to acquire food, the dresser crab uses them for protection, engaging in one of the most peculiar behaviors observed in nature. This tiny crab collects aquatic plants like seaweed and sponges, then attaches them to hooks on its shell to serve as a camouflage. The hooks work like a temporary adhesive, allowing the dresser crab to change its disguise easily when entering a new environment, ensuring it blends in wherever it goes.
If the crab detects danger, it will freeze and remain motionless, blending in as just another piece of seaweed until the threat passes.
3. Chimpanzees Hunt Using Spears
Fongoli chimpanzees craft spears with their teeth and hunt in groups to catch their prey for food.
Chimpanzees are arguably the most proficient tool users in the animal kingdom, but the Fongoli chimps have taken this to an entirely new level: hunting with spears. Researchers have been observing a group of chimps in Senegal, West Africa, who sharpen sticks with their teeth and go on coordinated hunting trips to capture bushbabies and other monkeys for food.
The chimpanzees in this region use their spears to jab into holes where they suspect bushbabies are hiding, not as a gentle probe, but with enough force to impale any animal that gets in the way.
It is primarily the females who engage in this behavior, but young chimpanzees are starting to make their own spears more frequently, a trend believed to be influenced by their tendency to mimic the actions of their mothers. To draw a parallel, we humans did the same thing around 2 million years ago.
2. The Bolas Spider “Fishes” for Its Prey
Bolas spiders create fishing rods from their silk, casting them to snare unsuspecting moths.
Sometimes nature equips creatures with the ability to create their own tools, as seen with the bolas spider, which is typically found in California. These spiders produce silk, just like other spiders that weave webs, but they use it in a unique way. Female bolas spiders craft sticky silk balls and throw them at flying moths to capture them, reeling in their prey as a fisherman would.
To ensure the moths come near enough, bolas spiders can also generate the same chemicals that female moths use to signal readiness for mating to male moths. (Warning: That link might haunt your dreams).
1. Gorillas Use Sticks to Measure Water Depth
Gorillas have been observed using sticks to assess the depth of water before they venture into ponds or rivers.
Watching primates in their natural habitats highlights their remarkable problem-solving abilities, even without human guidance to teach them specific behaviors. Tool use requires a certain level of spatial reasoning, and this is clearly demonstrated by a group of wild gorillas who have been seen using sticks to measure the depth of water pools before attempting to cross.
In one observation, researchers saw a female gorilla enter a pool, only to realize it was deeper than anticipated. She then stepped back, grabbed a long tree branch, and returned to the pool, using the branch to check the depth before each step. Another gorilla was seen carrying a log, which it dropped over muddy areas to create a makeshift bridge.
