Abstract
Osvath and Osvath (Anim Cogn 11: 661–674, 2008) report innovative studies with two chimpanzees and one orangutan that suggest some capacity to select and keep a tool for use about an hour later. This is a welcome contribution to a small, but rapidly growing, field. Here we point out some of the weaknesses in the current data and caution the interpretation the authors advance. It is not clear to what extent the apes really engaged in any foresight in these studies.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Tatiana Czeschlik for asking us to write this commentary. Preparation of this paper was supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery grant DP0770113 to TS.
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This is an invited response to Osvath and Osvath (2008).
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Suddendorf, T., Corballis, M.C. & Collier-Baker, E. How great is great ape foresight?. Anim Cogn 12, 751–754 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-009-0253-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-009-0253-9