ScienceHow Sumatran orangutans learn a broad diet before independence
Science reports that orangutan infants’ individual tendencies toward social and individual learning together shape the breadth of their diets during eight years of dependency.
TLDR
Sumatran orangutans use eight years of dependency to master a broad diet needed for independent survival, Science reports. Researchers found that infants differ in their tendencies to engage in social and individual learning, which together determine how broad their diets become by independence. Science describes the finding as offering insights into the evolutionary roots of humans’ complex learning mechanisms.
