Orangutans make music. It's a fact, say researchers at the University of Utrect in the Netherlands. Hanging high in a tree, orangutans strip leaves off a nearby twig, cup them in their hand, like using a blade of grass as a reed, and blow to make sounds.

But, unlike kids messing around on a sunny day, they don't do it just for fun. Orangutans make noise to ward off predators, as you might expect. Birds, whales, dolphins and other animals also use sound--to signal danger, to identify food, or just to say hi. So, what's with the researchers' surprising claim?

The researchers associated with this study make a surprising proposition--they say the orangutan's musical whistling is the first evidence of "culture" in animals. But, what does culture actually mean? Can it be defined simply as using a tool for communication or does it mean something more? If it means something more, do the orang's activities meet that criteria?

Culture in humans means the capacity for symbolic thought, social learning, and a set of shared goals and behaviors within a group. I see how orangs might be using social learning and shared goals/behaviors, but what about symbolic thought? An example of symbolic thought in humans is, of course, mathematics, but religion and history/tradition can also be examples.

Without symbolic thought, it seems like orangutan "culture" would be very 2 dimensional, if you can call it that at all. Im not sure this study really fully explores the definition of culture. But, what do i know?

Photo Credit: Nardiyono/TNC