Monkeys Using Tools?

Every so often, another story comes up in the news about animals that are supposedly demonstrating a more human intelligence because of their ability to use tools. On the Answers in Genesis website alone, we’ve collected and commented on a variety of reports about animals using tools. From spear-making chimpanzees to crows that can use tools to their advantage, evolutionists love to use these as alleged proof that animals are closer to human intelligence than we think. 

For example, in 2005, we wrote about widely circulated stories of gorillas in the wild using tools in an article titled Gorillas and Tools? And do you know what the observers found so impressive then?

A female gorilla crossed a pool of water by using a detached stick to test the water depth and then trying to use it as a walking stick. The second case involved another female gorilla who picked up a dead shrub and used it to lean on while looking for food in a swamp. According to the BBC report, she then placed the trunk down on the swampy ground and used it as a bridge.

You can read two more stories on apes using tools from our weekly News to Note publication at the links below:

• News to Note, “BBC News: ‘Ancient Chimps Used Stone Tools”
• News to Note, “BBC News: ‘Chimpanzees “hunt using spears”’

In another example from 2009–2010, there were a few stories about the intelligence of crows.    Continue at Ken Ham