Tool use by non-human animals

Do you know how when you want to eat something, you might use a fork or a spoon to help you get the food into your mouth? Well, some animals who are not humans do things like this too! These animals can use different tools, which are like items that help them with a specific task.

For example, some birds might use sticks to help them dig for food in the ground. Orangutans (an animal that looks a bit like a monkey) might use a long stick to reach fruit that is high up in a tree. Elephants might use their trunks to pick up things like branches and logs to help them break through fences or clear paths through the forest.

Animals that use tools are really smart and are able to figure out how to use something like a stick or a rock to help them do something that they might not be able to do without the tool. Scientists have studied this behavior and have even seen animals passing down their tool-using skills to their children and other animals in their group. It's pretty cool!