Creatures of Earth are a lot smarter than we humans give them credit for being. Sure we can teach monkeys to kickbox, encourage alpacas to surf and train dogs and dolphins to jump through hoops, but it’s the things they do on their own that are impressive.
Take for example the tuskfish. It wasn’t a new episode on The Food Network, but a diver swimming along Australia’s Great Barrier Reef did snap the first ever photos of a fish using a tool. In this case, the six photos document the tuskfish grasping a clam in its mouth and then banging it against a rock to remove the shell and reveal the tasty dinner. According to Scott Gardner, the diver and photographer, there were several pieces of mollusk shell around the rock indicating this was a regular feeding habit and not a one-time event.
Orangutans have been spotted using spears to fish and crows have been observed in the wild using tools to gain a meal, but this is the first time a fish has been caught in the act of making the most of what it can do and its surroundings.