Scrub-up
When you think about animal “culture,” one of the first things that you probably think about is the way in which some animal behavior looks very much like human behavior. And when that thought comes to your mind, the first animal you may think of is the raccoon.
Raccoons share many human tastes and characteristics. They are curious and adventurous, often entering people’s houses to steal food. Above all, raccoons seem to observe the same hygienic habits regarding food as we do. They wash their food before eating.
Is this evidence of raccoon culture?
Probably not. People often believe raccoons are cleaning their food, but this is not really the case. Raccoons moisten their food not to clean it but rather to get more information about it before they bite in. Raccoon paws have very sensitive nerve endings. Moistened food sends valuable information to the raccoon brain. They are not concerned with hygiene. The washing is instinctual, not a sign of raccoon culture.
On the other hand, for some Japanese monkeys, washing food definitely is a sign of culture—at least in the minds of some animal researchers.
Monkeys living on the island of Kojima in Miyazaki Prefecture wash their food before they eat. Unlike the raccoons, the monkeys have developed the practice of washing food through social learning. Scientists think that may be another example of animal culture.
The Kojima monkeys have been digging up and eating sweet potatoes for centuries. One day, the inhabitants of the island saw something remarkable. A monkey was sitting beside a mountain stream, washing a potato before eating it.
To us, washing a potato may seem not at all unusual. After all, potatoes grow underground. When you dig them up, they are covered with mud and sand. It is unpleasant to eat mud and sand. So, for centuries, all the Kojima monkeys brushed the sand and mud off the potatoes with their hands before biting in.
The monkey that decided to wash the potato before eating it had made a remarkable discovery. Was it just a whim or an accident? We are aware that monkeys are ingenious at learning new techniques and even making tools. But what was remarkable is what happened next.
Several other monkeys recognized the advantage of washing a sandy potato before eating it and decided to adopt that method. Eventually, most of the other monkeys in the colony were washing their potatoes in streams and rivers. Within a decade, every monkey on the island was washing potatoes.
At some point, another creative individual decided to wash its potato in the ocean, rather than in the river. The salty water added flavor to the potato. Soon others followed. Finally, the entire colony had adopted the practice of ocean potato washing.
That was generations ago, but today, even though none of the original monkeys are alive, Kojima monkeys still love clean, salty potatoes. The washing practice has been passed on for several generations.
Just like whales using the lobtail feeding technique or chimps decorating their ears with grass, the practice of potato washing was passed on from one individual to another until it became a communal practice—that is to say, part of the culture of the colony. This is the same process of social learning that some animal experts have begun to identify as “culture.”
Even if you do not agree that washing potatoes is “culture,” the story of the Kojima monkeys should reinforce your understanding of animals as ingenious, creative, and intelligent creatures, fully deserving of your admiration and respect.
When you think about animal “culture,” one of the first things that you probably think about is the way in which some animal behavior looks very much like human behavior. And when that thought comes to your mind, the first animal you may think of is the raccoon.
Raccoons share many human tastes and characteristics. They are curious and adventurous, often entering people’s houses to steal food. Above all, raccoons seem to observe the same hygienic habits regarding food as we do. They wash their food before eating.
Is this evidence of raccoon culture?
Probably not. People often believe raccoons are cleaning their food, but this is not really the case. Raccoons moisten their food not to clean it but rather to get more information about it before they bite in. Raccoon paws have very sensitive nerve endings. Moistened food sends valuable information to the raccoon brain. They are not concerned with hygiene. The washing is instinctual, not a sign of raccoon culture.
On the other hand, for some Japanese monkeys, washing food definitely is a sign of culture—at least in the minds of some animal researchers.
Monkeys living on the island of Kojima in Miyazaki Prefecture wash their food before they eat. Unlike the raccoons, the monkeys have developed the practice of washing food through social learning. Scientists think that may be another example of animal culture.
The Kojima monkeys have been digging up and eating sweet potatoes for centuries. One day, the inhabitants of the island saw something remarkable. A monkey was sitting beside a mountain stream, washing a potato before eating it.
To us, washing a potato may seem not at all unusual. After all, potatoes grow underground. When you dig them up, they are covered with mud and sand. It is unpleasant to eat mud and sand. So, for centuries, all the Kojima monkeys brushed the sand and mud off the potatoes with their hands before biting in.
The monkey that decided to wash the potato before eating it had made a remarkable discovery. Was it just a whim or an accident? We are aware that monkeys are ingenious at learning new techniques and even making tools. But what was remarkable is what happened next.
Several other monkeys recognized the advantage of washing a sandy potato before eating it and decided to adopt that method. Eventually, most of the other monkeys in the colony were washing their potatoes in streams and rivers. Within a decade, every monkey on the island was washing potatoes.
At some point, another creative individual decided to wash its potato in the ocean, rather than in the river. The salty water added flavor to the potato. Soon others followed. Finally, the entire colony had adopted the practice of ocean potato washing.
That was generations ago, but today, even though none of the original monkeys are alive, Kojima monkeys still love clean, salty potatoes. The washing practice has been passed on for several generations.
Just like whales using the lobtail feeding technique or chimps decorating their ears with grass, the practice of potato washing was passed on from one individual to another until it became a communal practice—that is to say, part of the culture of the colony. This is the same process of social learning that some animal experts have begun to identify as “culture.”
Even if you do not agree that washing potatoes is “culture,” the story of the Kojima monkeys should reinforce your understanding of animals as ingenious, creative, and intelligent creatures, fully deserving of your admiration and respect.