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On the other hand, a growing body of observational and experimental data demonstrates that various animal species are capable of acquiring the forms of their tool-use behaviours via individual learning, with (non-copying) social learning regulating the frequencies of the behavioural forms within (and, indirectly, between) groups. However, concrete evidence for a widespread dependency on social learning is still lacking. We argue that the current animal behaviour literature is biased towards a social learning approach, in which animal, and in particular primate, tool-use repertoires are thought to require social learning mechanisms (copying variants of social learning are most often invoked).
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Yet, the mechanisms behind the emergence and sustenance of these tool-use repertoires are still heavily debated.
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The notion that tool-use is unique to humans has long been refuted by the growing number of observations of animals using tools across various contexts.
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