On 26 October Michael Sylvester wrote: >I saw a program on Jane Goodall where she saw chimps use >sticks to fetch ants from an ant hill. She was fascinated by their >tool utilization and alerted the scientific community who initially >remained skeptical.
I've been an avid follower of Jane Goodall's work since I read *In the Shadow of Man* in 1971, and I don't recall that the scientific community as a whole initially remained sceptical of her observations about the use of small branches shorn of their leaves to entice ants out of nests so they could eat them. Nor do I recall anything like this being said in the recent BBC biographical documentary on Goodall http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00v9j22 Quite possibly some ethologists were sceptical in the sense that they thought the behaviour aberrant or too rare to be generalised about, but that doesn't make them "the scientific community". Louis Leakey's immediate response was: "We must now redefine man, redefine tool, or accept chimpanzees as human!" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Goodall#cite_ref-Chimp_10-0 >Anyway why were Goodall's chimps eating ants? >Ain't those Bozo types vegetarian? Goodall reported on chimps hunting colobus monkeys decades ago. Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London allenester...@compuserve.com http://www.esterson.org ----------------------------------------- michael sylvester <msylves...@copper.net> Subject: Fw: Who's on first? Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:18:37 -0200 Not referring to an Abbot and Costello flick, but I saw a program on Jane Goodall where she saw chimps use sticks to fetch ants from an ant hill.She was fascinated by their tool utilization and alerted the scientific community who initially remained skeptical. However ,when I was at Wichita State in the early 1970s,I knew a prof at WSU by he name of Neil Pronko who published a text of articles in a work titled PANORAMA OF PSYCHOLOGY where he had a piece on monkeys on a Pacific island that washed potatoes before eating them. For monkeys to wash potatoes before eating them certainly implies higher cognitive function. I do not remember the time line for the both of those animal observations. Anyway why were Goodall's chimps eating ants? Ain't those Bozo types vegetarian? Michael "omnicentric" Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=6026 or send a blank email to leave-6026-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
