Innovation and transport of tool sets in Goffin’s cockatoos.

The use of tool sets constitutes one of the most elaborate examples of animal technology, and reports of it in nature are limited to chimpanzees and Goffin's cockatoos. While tool set use in Goffin’s was only recently discovered, we know that chimpanzees flexibly transport tool sets, depending on need. Flexible tool set transport can be considered full evidence for identification of a genuine tool set, as the selection of the second tool is not just a response to the outcomes of the use of the first tool, but implies recognizing the need for both tools before using any of them (thus, categorizing both tools together as a tool set). In three controlled experiments, we tested captive Goffin's in tasks inspired by the termite fishing of Goualougo Triangle’s chimpanzees. Thereby we show that some[aom1] [aom2] Goffin’s can innovate the use and flexibly use and transport of a new tool set for an immediate future use; therefore, their sequential tool use is more than the sum of its parts.

工具套装（tool set）的使用是动物技术中最为精巧的范例之一，目前自然界中仅在黑猩猩（chimpanzees）与戈芬凤头鹦鹉（Goffin's cockatoos）中观测到此类行为。尽管戈芬凤头鹦鹉的工具套装使用行为直至近年才被发现，但已有研究证实黑猩猩可根据实际需求灵活运输工具套装。灵活的工具套装运输行为可被视为判定真正工具套装的充分证据：对第二件工具的选择并非仅针对第一件工具的使用结果做出响应，而是意味着在使用任一工具前就已意识到两种工具的联用需求，由此将二者共同归类为一套工具套装。本研究通过三项对照实验，以古卢古三角（Goualougo Triangle）黑猩猩的白蚁垂钓行为为灵感设计实验任务，对圈养戈芬凤头鹦鹉进行了测试。借此我们证实，部分[aom1][aom2]戈芬凤头鹦鹉能够创新工具套装的使用方式，并可灵活使用与运输全新工具套装以满足即刻的任务需求；因此它们的序列式工具使用行为并非各单一动作的简单叠加。