Posted on: 1 October, 2024
The bachelor group of gelada recently dug up a rock to play with and uncovered a fossil, which was later identified as an ammonite.
Gelada often display stone handling, which is a play and foraging behaviour seen in some primates, however the discovery of a fossil is a first for the group.
Stone handling is a playful activity where stones are shifted into different patterns and can often prove self-reward. It may involve social spontaneous behaviour that ranges from exploring with shapes to more complex manipulations.
It has been recorded amongst many primates, along with the use of tools, to help them access favoured resources, food and water. Geladas have even been reported to use stones for ‘drawing,’ using a stone to mark a surface and using their dextrous finger to spread and adjust the colour. Gelada hands are extremely similar to humans, with long thumbs, a strong index finger, and the highest thumb-to-digits ratio among Catarrhines, Old Word Monkeys.
Bristol Zoo Project is home to six male Gelada, Hobbit, Harshit, Kito, Kidame, and recent newcomers Lee, and Takeze who all live in a special habitat designed to replicate their native landscape in the Ethiopian highlands. The long grasses, rocks and climbing platforms, give them good vantage points and plenty of areas to forage.
Ammonites were marine animals that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous time, becoming extinct around 66 million years ago and their fossils are commonly located in sedimentary rocks. It is a great surprise that such a remarkable specimen has been discovered by our species here at Bristol Zoo Project, and we hope that they are able to discover more to begin their own collection.
Find out more information about our geladas and other amazing animals that live here at Bristol Zoo Project.
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