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How do chimpanzees use stones and wood to crack nuts?

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A common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) sits on a rock holding a long blade of grass in its mouth, with dense green foliage in the background. — chimpanzee The West African, or masked, chimpanzee (*Pan troglodytes verus*) is a critically endangered subspecies of chimpanzee.

Chimpanzees demonstrate remarkable intelligence and problem-solving abilities by utilizing various objects as tools to access food. To crack open hard nuts, they employ stones, roots, and wood, using them as hammers or anvils to break the shells.1

This behavior is part of a broader repertoire of tool use observed in chimpanzees, which varies locally among different groups. These skills are not innate but are acquired by younger animals through social learning from their elders, contributing to what is defined as culture in chimpanzee societies.1