One possible explanation for the absence of observed tool use in wild gorillas is that they are less dependent on extractive foraging techniques that might require the use of tools, since they exploit food resources differently than chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). It has been argued that gorilla tool use in captivity is less extensive than that shown by other apes, but it has recently been demonstrated that captive western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) showed tool-using skills similar to those of orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus), who frequently use tools in the wild. Although there are reports of tool use by captive gorillas ( Gorilla sp.), including object throwing and use of tools in feeding, there has been to our knowledge no reported case of tool use in by wild gorillas, despite decades of field research. Information on tool use and factors favoring tool use in wild apes helps us to understand its importance in the evolution of our own species.

Beck's classic book defines six different types of tools: objects thrown at predators or rivals, objects used to hit predators, hunting weapons (only hominids), objects incorporated into social displays, objects to clean body parts, and objects made and used to acquire food, such as insects or nuts. Tool use is defined as “the employment of an unattached environmental object to alter more efficiently the form, position, or condition of another object, another organism, or the user itself when the user holds or carries the tool during or just prior to use and is responsible for the proper and effective orientation of the tool” (p.

Go wild gorillas