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Social learning of diet and foraging skills by wild immature Bornean orangutans: implications for culture
Author(s) -
Jaeggi Adrian V.,
Dunkel Lynda P.,
Van Noordwijk Maria A.,
Wich Serge A.,
Sura Agnes A.L.,
Van Schaik Carel P.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
american journal of primatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.988
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1098-2345
pISSN - 0275-2565
DOI - 10.1002/ajp.20752
Subject(s) - foraging , captivity , observational learning , social learning , observational study , biology , ecology , zoology , association (psychology) , developmental psychology , cultural transmission in animals , psychology , evolutionary biology , medicine , pedagogy , mathematics education , pathology , psychotherapist , experiential learning
Abstract Studies of social learning in the wild are important to complement findings from experiments in captivity. In this field study, immature Bornean orangutans rarely foraged independently but consistently followed their mothers' choices. Their diets were essentially identical to their mothers' even though not all mothers had the same diet. This suggests vertical transmission of diet by enhancement. Also, immatures selectively observed their mothers during extractive foraging, which increased goal‐directed practice but not general manipulation of similar objects, suggesting observational forms of learning of complex skills. Teaching was not observed. These results are consistent with the reported presence of food traditions and skill cultures in wild orangutans. We suggest that food traditions can develop wherever association commonly allows for social learning. However, the capacity for observational learning, and thus more complex culture, is more likely to evolve among extractive foragers with prolonged association between adults and immatures. Am. J. Primatol. 72:62–71, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.