Copying mother: The surprising depth of culture shaping young orangutans’ lives

New research from the University of St Andrews has found that the amount of knowledge a wild orangutan acquires over its long juvenile development depends on its style of learning, both socially and individually. 

In a paper published in Science, researchers studying wild orangutans in Sumatra have been able to assess for the first time the scale of learning by juveniles before they achieve independence from their mothers. 

Infant orangutans differ greatly from one another in how frequently they engage in social versus individual learning. 

Orangutans hold the record for diligent maternal care, which lasts as long as eight or more years before youngsters can be weaned and forage independently. For orangutans this requires learning the approximately 250 dietary items that need to be extracted from the rainforest, some requiring the use of simple tools.

The new study shows that the scope of the cultural heritage that passes from their doting mother to the infant over these years is substantially greater than has yet been appreciated for any non-human animal. 

Read more on the University's news page.