Animal Hacks
Humans aren’t the only creatures to use tools. Archerfish shoot water droplets from their mouths to fell insects. Octopuses carry coconut shells to serve as shelter. Orangutans borrow canoes to forage for aquatic plants. “Tool use is widespread and diverse,” says biologist Robert W. Shumaker. But it’s not necessarily a sign of intelligence. For some animals, like the archerfish, tool use is mostly instinctive: each individual of the species does it, in the same way. Other animals learn their skills: before the canoeing orangutans ventured out on the water, they observed how humans used the craft.