Question map
Which one of the following makes a tool with a stick to scrape insects from a hole in a tree or a log of wood?
Explanation
The correct answer is Option 2: Orangutan.
Orangutans are renowned for their high cognitive abilities and sophisticated tool-use behavior. In the wild, they have been observed selecting branches, stripping them of leaves, and shaping them into specific "probe" tools. They use these sticks to extract ants, termites, or honey from tree hollows and logs. This behavior demonstrates causal reasoning and manual dexterity, as they must modify the tool to fit the specific dimensions of the hole.
- Fishing cats and Otters primarily use their paws or mouths to hunt aquatic prey and do not construct complex probes.
- Sloth bears possess specialized long claws and a gap in their teeth to suck up insects (myrmecophagy) rather than utilizing external sticks as tools.
Such observations are critical in evolutionary biology, highlighting the close behavioral link between great apes and humans in terms of problem-solving and environmental manipulation.
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Guest previewThis is a classic 'BBC Earth' question. It is NOT in standard textbooks like Shankar or NCERT. It tests your general awareness of evolutionary biology and animal behaviour. If you rely solely on rote learning of IUCN lists, you will miss this; it requires 'Science Watch' curiosity.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
- Statement 1: Are fishing cats known to make and use stick tools to scrape insects from holes in trees or logs?
- Statement 2: Are orangutans known to make and use stick tools to scrape insects from holes in trees or logs?
- Statement 3: Are otters known to make and use stick tools to scrape insects from holes in trees or logs?
- Statement 4: Are sloth bears known to make and use stick tools to scrape insects from holes in trees or logs?
Describes 'scrapers' as a named tool type used to remove material (wood/skin), establishing the concept of scraping as a recognised tool function.
A student could look for animal behaviours that perform scraping with objects and compare whether fishing cats (Felidae) show analogous object use for similar tasks.
Says early humans used 'twigs' and other simple implements as tools, showing that simple sticks can serve as tools for extraction tasks.
One could infer that if other species use simple sticks to extract prey, checking observational reports of fishing cats using twigs would be a reasonable next step.
Describes use of bamboo/wooden poles by humans for practical tasks (e.g., fishing), illustrating that sticks are commonly used as implements in animal–environment interactions.
This supports the plausibility that an animal associated with fishing (by name/behaviour) might use sticks; a student could search ethological records of fishing cats for stick use.
Explains an insect-trapping mechanism in plants, highlighting contexts where insects are accessible in leaves/holes and thereby defining the target resource described in the statement.
Knowing insects can be trapped in plant structures, a student could ask whether fishing cats exploit such microhabitats and whether they employ tools to access trapped insects.
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This statement analysis shows book citations, web sources and indirect clues. The first statement (S1) is open for preview.
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