Page last updated at 23:56 GMT, Tuesday, 3 March 2009

Chimps craft ultimate fishing rod

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Scientists believe they have solved the mystery of why some chimpanzees are so good at catching termites.

A team working in the Republic of Congo discovered that the chimps are crafting brush-tipped "fishing rods" to scoop the insects out of their nests.

They filmed the wild primates using their teeth to fashion the tools.

Writing in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, the researchers said the probes' frayed ends helped the chimpanzees to collect more termites.

Footage courtesy of Crickette Sanz, Josep Call and David Morgan

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