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Research conducted in Senegal has shown that older chimpanzees assist younger ones in learning how to use tools. Experienced apes teach less experienced members of their own species by passing on sticks or fruits that aid in the difficult process of finding food. According to scientists reporting in the journal "Frontiers in Psychology", mothers played a particularly important role as teachers.

A team from the University of Barcelona and the Spanish Jane-Goodall Institute studied 15 hours of camera trap footage taken around Dindefelo in southeastern Senegal, where wild West African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) were using tools to obtain food. Researchers documented 33 cases where chimpanzees passed on tools to other animals.

The original owners were mostly adults, especially females. The largest group of recipients were very young chimpanzees, making up 42 percent of the recipients. Interactions between relatives were particularly common, occurring in about 30 percent of the cases, often from a mother to her offspring. One recorded instance showed a mother chimpanzee inserting a stick into an aardvark colony and then guiding her daughter to the prepared tool.

The young chimpanzee then removed the stick and ate the ants clinging to it. Another showed a juvenile attempting and failing to lift a baobab fruit from a rock. An older juvenile then demonstrated the appropriate movement and even opened a fruit. The baby watched attentively and tried again. Adult chimpanzees altered their behavior, making it easier for inexperienced members to learn.

This suggests that the transfer of tools could be a form of teaching. Experienced apes changed their behavior to facilitate learning for less experienced individuals. The recipients then used tools more frequently and found food more often. This behavior has been observed since 1960 when primatologist Jane Goodall documented chimpanzees creating and using tools to catch termites. Today, it is known that chimpanzees possess a wide variety of techniques.