Chimp Tool‑Transfers as Teaching

Wild western chimpanzees were filmed handing tools or food-bearing tools to less-experienced individuals (33 events across 25 sites), often mother→offspring, and recipients fed more afterwards. The exchanges sometimes required teachers to modify behaviour (leaving a tool ready) and occasionally triggered theft conflicts, indicating a social dynamic around transmission. — Shows teaching-like behaviour exists in wild apes, which reframes debates about the uniqueness of human pedagogical culture and informs how we think about the evolution of education, culture, and cognition.