Animal Tool Behavior: The Use and Manufacture of Tools by Animals

This revised and updated edition of the landmark publication reveals the current state of knowledge regarding animal tool behavior.

When originally published in 1980, Animal Tool Behavior was the first volume to catalog and analyze the complete literature on tool use and manufacture in non-human animals. Benjamin B. Beck showed how animals―from insects to primates―employed different types of tools to solve numerous problems. This work inspired and energized legions of researchers to study the use of tools by a wide variety of species.

This new edition reveals the current state of knowledge regarding animal tool behavior, updated and revised with 300 additional references that have been published since the second edition. Through a comprehensive synthesis of studies produced through 2023, Robert W. Shumaker, Kristina R. Walkup, and Benjamin B. Beck define tool use, discuss the modes of tool use that have emerged in the scientific literature, examine all forms of tool manufacture, and address common myths about non-human tool use. Specific examples involving invertebrates, birds, fish, and mammals describe the differing levels of sophistication of tool use exhibited by animals. This volume provides a thorough framework for understanding animal tool use and manufacture.

Robert W. Shumaker is the president and CEO of the Indianapolis Zoo, the author of Orangutans and the editor of Saving Endangered Species: Lessons in Wildlife Conservation from Indianapolis Prize Winners.

Kristina R. Walkup is a professor at Des Moines Area Community College.

Benjamin Beck is a scientist emeritus at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and a founding member of the board of Save the Golden Lion Tamarin. He is the author of Unwitting Travelers: A History of Primate Reintroduction, and the first edition of Animal Tool Behavior. Shumaker and Beck are coauthors of Primates in Question.

Gordon M. Burghardt is an Alumni Distinguished Service Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee. He is the author of The Genesis of Animal Play: Testing the Limits.