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Published online 9 December 2004 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news041206-12

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Hungry monkeys can dig it

Capuchins in Brazil spotted using tools to unearth food.

Capuchins in the dry forests of northeastern Brazil have an unusual approach to food: they have been caught using tools to dig up tubers, a feat previously only seen in humans.

"They're using their minds, not just brute force," claims Phyllis Lee of the University of Cambridge, UK, who reports the discovery with her colleague Antonio Moura in this week's Science1.

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