Lord Rama and Lakshmana had their bows and arrows. But what did the monkey army fight with? According to Maharishi Valmiki, when the order for attack came, they just uprooted the trees, lifted the boulders lying around and attacked the Lankan Rakshasas!

Now, for the first time, Gorillas in the wild have been documented using the same weaponry. Researchers studying gorillas in Cameroon have documented three cases in which the great apes threw tree branches at the intruding humans. Though captive Gorillas in zoos have been observed to throw stones at visitors, it was considered to be a behaviour learnt from the humans. The new observation indicates that Gorillas too have concept of tool use.

On an earlier occasions too, researchers have been surprised by the intelligence of the Gorillas in the wild. In 2005, scientists working on a project in a remote Congolese forest reported two instances of Gorillas using detached objects as tools.  In the first case, they photographed a female crossing a pool using a stick and testing the water depth. She also used the ‘walking stick’ for support in the water. The second case saw another female gorilla pick up the trunk of a dead shrub and use it to lean on while searching for food in a swamp. She then placed the trunk down on the swampy ground and used it as a bridge! 

But what about ‘making’ tools? Till a few decades ago it was believed that only humans could modify naturally available substances and design a tool. In fact, tool-making was considered the defining difference between humans and other animals.

Dr Jane Goodall, a dedicated primatologist, demolished this belief. In 1960, Jane arrived in E Africa from England to study the Chimpanzees at the Gombe National park. It was here that she made a discovery that mad her and the chimps, famous.

Termites are one of chimpanzees' favourite foods. But how did they reach the creatures deep within their mounds? Jane Goodall found the answer. She saw a chimp pick up a twig, strip the leaves off of it and stick the twig into one of the holes in the termite mound. He left it there for a moment, before slowly pulling it out. As termites clung to the twig, the clever chimp picked them off with his lips and ate them.

Later scientists learned that chimpanzees in different forests specialised in making and using different kinds of tool. Chimps at Bossou, Guinea, have been observed to fold and use leaves like a cup to pick up water and drink.
The Bossou chimps have also been seen to pick and choose stones to crack nuts. Sometimes when chimps couldn’t reach water that had formed in hollows high up inside trees they would take a handful of leaves, chew them, dip this “sponge” into the little pool and suck out the water!

Recently, observers have made yet another exciting discovery. An American anthropologist conducting research in Senegal, has observed Chimps making a “spear” to hunt another mammal.

On 22 different occasions, researchers documented wild chimpanzees fashioning sticks into "spears" to hunt small primates called lesser bush babies. In each case the chimpanzee modified a branch by breaking off one or two ends and, using its teeth to sharpen the stick. The ape then jabbed the spear into hollows in tree trunks where bush babies slept and took out the dead animal.