Abang (orangutan)
Encyclopedia
Abang is an Orangutan
taught to make stone tool
s, as a part of a research experiment to determine if this ability is a characteristic unique to human
s, the genus Homo
, or to the family Hominidae
.
subject, through imitative learning, to use a stone to hammer a flake from a flint and use this flake as a tool to open a box. The experiment was divided into two stages where the subject was given demonstrations and then given the opportunity to do the activity him/herself. Stage-I's aim was tool-use, to get an ape to cut a cord to open a box, using a pre-made flake. Stage-II's aim was tool-making, to get an ape to make his/her own flakes and open the box with them. The demonstration and attempts were done with a sheet aluminum box. A mesh window made the food visible. The box had a lid secured by a cord inside the box, with the cord accessible via a slot.
Orangutan
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
taught to make stone tool
Stone tool
A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric, particularly Stone Age cultures that have become extinct...
s, as a part of a research experiment to determine if this ability is a characteristic unique to human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s, the genus Homo
Homo
Homo may refer to:*the Greek prefix ὅμο-, meaning "the same"*the Latin for man, human being*Homo, the taxonomical genus including modern humans...
, or to the family Hominidae
Hominidae
The Hominidae or include them .), as the term is used here, form a taxonomic family, including four extant genera: chimpanzees , gorillas , humans , and orangutans ....
.
Early Life
Abang was illegally captured in Sarawak when about 1 year old. After being confiscated by authorities, he was taken with a female, Dayang, to England in 1967 to the Bristol Zoo.Aim and Setup
The aim of the experiment was to teach an apeApe
Apes are Old World anthropoid mammals, more specifically a clade of tailless catarrhine primates, belonging to the biological superfamily Hominoidea. The apes are native to Africa and South-east Asia, although in relatively recent times humans have spread all over the world...
subject, through imitative learning, to use a stone to hammer a flake from a flint and use this flake as a tool to open a box. The experiment was divided into two stages where the subject was given demonstrations and then given the opportunity to do the activity him/herself. Stage-I's aim was tool-use, to get an ape to cut a cord to open a box, using a pre-made flake. Stage-II's aim was tool-making, to get an ape to make his/her own flakes and open the box with them. The demonstration and attempts were done with a sheet aluminum box. A mesh window made the food visible. The box had a lid secured by a cord inside the box, with the cord accessible via a slot.