Chimpanzees are not just using tools; they are teaching their young how to use them too, according to a new study. This social learning, where adult chimps hand over tools and model their use, suggests a level of teaching previously unseen in the animal kingdom.

‘Receiving food and tools from experienced individuals, which we call food or tool transfer, may help chimpanzees learn to use technology to extract foods that are difficult to access,’ said co-author Andreu Sánchez-Megías. ‘Tool transfers thus appear to be a form of teaching, together with observation and supervised practice.’

As Jane Goodall famously observed, tool use among chimps is not new. In 1960, she watched a chimp named David Greybeard bend a twig to collect termites, leading her mentor to question the very definition of 'human.' Since then, chimps have been observed making sponges from leaves, shaping sticks, and even sharpening rudimentary spears for hunting.

Other species, like dolphins, also engage in what could be considered a form of tool use, suggesting that the evolution of tool use might be more widespread among primates and possibly even marine life. But the level of social learning seen in chimpanzees is particularly intriguing, hinting at a more complex form of communication and education.

Could these findings force us to rethink our understanding of tool use and intelligence in the animal world? Or are we just seeing a more sophisticated version of play and exploration? Only time, and more research, will tell.