Five-year study suggests chimpanzees strike stones against trees as form of communication

Amazing stuff!

"A recent study by behavioral biologists from Wageningen University & Research and the German Primate Research Center has uncovered a remarkable phenomenon among wild chimpanzees in West Africa: the use of stones to produce sound, presumably as a form of communication. ...

Over the course of a five-year field study, the research team collected video footage at five distinct locations within a nature reserve in Guinea-Bissau. This was made possible through the use of camera traps and with essential support from local field guides. In specific areas, a striking behavioral pattern was observed: adult male chimpanzees repeatedly struck stones against tree trunks, resulting in characteristic piles of stones at the base of these trees. ..."

From the abstract:

"Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) communicate in complex ways, including sounds produced by hand and foot drumming on trees, often combined with loud vocalizations.

Recently, a puzzling stone throwing behaviour at trees was observed, resulting in stone piles at tree buttresses. It is a rare case of tool used for communication in animals and suggested to function like buttress drumming in long-distance communication and male displays.

We tested this hypothesis by determining the behavioural dynamics in comparison to hand and foot tree buttress drumming in Western chimpanzees in Boé, Guinea Bissau. Using camera traps, we show that in 78% of cases, stones were picked up at trees, not leading to further stone accumulation beyond the already existing stone piles. 

Stone-assisted and hand and foot drumming occurred separately or were combined in similar behavioural contexts in apparent long-distance communication and highly aroused behavioural contexts.

Yet, immediately before stone drumming, chimpanzees swayed less and pant-hooted more while afterwards pant-hooting less compared to the other contexts, suggesting a separate motivation and/or function for stone-assisted drumming. It suggests this unique stone-based activity has its own signal value, separate from hand/foot buttress drumming and, considering the spatial variation, might be culturally transmitted."

Five-year study suggests chimpanzees strike stones against trees as form of communication

Chimpanzees use stones to communicate (original news release)

Stone-assisted drumming in Western chimpanzees and its implications for communication and cultural transmission (open access)

This male chimpanzee in a nature reserve in Guinea-Bissau has just thrown a stone, an act captured by a camera trap.