Evolution

Its pretty amazing to actually be able to tell as species evolve. Two instances captured recently are out to show how gorilla's are adapting to today's world. An infant gorilla in a Congo sanctuary is smashing palm nuts between two rocks to extract oil, surprising and intriguing scientists who say they have much to learn about what gorillas can do -- and about what that says about evolution. Scientists said that the finding indicates that complex tool use may not be a trait developed only by humans and chimpanzees, and could have its origins earlier in the evolutionary chain, among ancestors common to both humans and our closest relatives the great apes. They believed Itebero, named for a place near where she was found, started cracking nuts spontaneously and had not been influenced by the time she has spent among humans. Earlier this year, researchers reported observing gorillas in the wild in the neighboring Republic of Congo's rain forests using simple tools, according to a team led by Thomas Breuer of the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo. In an e-mail message Monday from the Republic of Congo's Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, Breuer said that in 10 years of observation, his team had seen only two instances of tool use among gorillas. In one a stick was used to test the depth of a pond and in another a small tree trunk was used for support and as a bridge. Its pretty cool to watch what is second nature to us, and comprehend how amazing it is for animals to display this behavior.
stick in the mud
crackin nuts