Bobbing off the coast of western America , sea otters may have been using stone tools before we , as a species , even existed . It release out thatthe marine mammals have been smashing shell on an incus made of rock for G – and perhaps even millions – of years .
Sea otters are known to be fecund tool user . The marine mammalian collect rocks from the sea floor , which they then balance on their belly and function as anvils on which to smash mollusk to get at the tasty meat within . The otter are even known to have favorite careen , which they then store inmoist pockets of skinfor use at a later particular date . But not all individual within a universe will use tools , raising the question of whether or not the skill is learned .
This has an interesting parallel with another tool - handle nautical mammalian – the Indo - Pacific bottle - nosed dolphin . These cetacean utilize cone shape - shaped sponges to protect the end of their nozzle from price as they traverse the seafloor in search of fish veil in the sand . Again , not all dolphin are known to do this and those that do are likely closely related , intimate it is a late cultural development pass along on from mother to progeny .
The otters often have a " favorite " putz that they store in a sac . David Litman / Shutterstock
To seeif this might be the samefor the shell - cracking otter , the squad of scientist did genetic tests on those that apply puppet to see how closely related to they are compared with the wider population . To their amazement , they found that the groups were incredibly various and no more closely related to to each other than they were to the population of otters in general .
“ The lack of genetic tie-up with tool - function in sea otters , compared with dolphinfish , may lead from the length of prison term each mintage has been using tools , ” write the authors in their study write inBiology Letters . “ cock - use in dolphin is think to be a recent excogitation ; however , it is likely a much older behaviour in sea otters . ”
Munching on a tasty kickshaw . Chase Dekker / Shutterstock
They suggest that all-encompassing genetic difference between tool - using otter implies that the deportment probably came into being at least chiliad , and mayhap even trillion , of class ago , massively pre - dating the tool use of Indo - Pacific dolphins , which is only think to be around 200 yr old .
This is back up by the fact that untried sea otter puppy seem innately predispose to using tools . They refer to orphaned otter pups raised in enslavement that learn how to use the stones even before they are wean .
