Ellen Jackson - Tooling Around: Crafty Creatures and the Tools They Use

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123

TOOLING

AROUND

CRAFTY CREATURES

AND THE TOOLS THEY USE

Ellen Jackson

Illustrated by Renn Benoit

T ools help us everywhere,

on the earth and in the air.

Sewing, mowing, baling hay

people use them every day.

Now and then youll see a few

animals who use tools, too.

Among scientists there is no exact definition of a tool. But many

scientists who study animal tool use define a tool as an object

that an animal uses to accomplish a goal. Animals have been

observed using tools to achieve objectives, such as obtaining

food, attracting mates, protecting themselves, or concealing nests.

F inches with a cactus spine

dig for bugs on which to dine.

Woodpecker finches use cactus spines or twigs to dig grubs

out of holes. Theyve also been observed scraping branches

with pieces of tree bark in their search for hidden insects.

H ungry chimps have quite a trick:

catching termites with a stick.

Chimpanzees insert sticks, straw, or long blades of grass

into termite mounds. The termites cling to the inserted object.

Then the chimpanzee pulls the insects out of the mound and

enjoys a tasty termite meal!

O tters on an ocean swell

use a rock to crack a shell.

A sea otter gathers a rock from the ocean floor. Back at the

surface, the otter places the rock on its chest and smashes a

clam, abalone, or other shellfish against it until the shell opens.

Then the otter dines on the mollusk found inside.

C rows that bend a piece of wire

learn to snag what they desire.

Betty, a New Caledonian crow living in a laboratory, was observed

bending a piece of wire into a hook, then using the hook to retrieve

a piece of meat from a tube.

Wild New Caledonian crows also make hooks out of forked twigs,

which they further bend with their beak.

H eres a deer whos quite well dressed,

wearing grass to look his best.

Male red deer smear their antlers with mud or grass

to appear bigger and fiercer to other males and

more attractive to females.

B owerbirds who want a mate

build and paint and decorate.

A male bowerbird builds a structure, or bower, to attract a

female. Some types of bowerbirds, like the Vogelkop shown

here, decorate with flowers and acorns. Others, like the satin

and regent bowerbirds, coat a piece of bark or a twig with

charcoal or fruit pulp and paint the walls of the bower.

F lies that want to mate and live

bring a gourmet gift to give.

A male empid fly presents a female fly with an insect wrapped

in a cocoon. This gift not only entices the female to mate,

but it also prevents the female from eating the male once

mating is complete.

D olphins choose a cone-shaped sponge,

wrap their beaks, then fish and lunge.

Some bottlenose dolphins wrap their beak in a marine sponge,

either to protect this sensitive part of their body or to help

them uncover buried fish on the sandy ocean floor.

O ctopuses like to hide

in a shell theyre safe inside.

Veined octopuses have been observed carrying large coconut

shells with their tentacles. These octopuses find coconut shells

that have been thrown into the ocean by humans. They use the

shells as a protective hiding place when they stop to rest in an

exposed area.

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