Which one of the following makes a tool with a stick to scrape insects from a hole in a tree or a log of wood?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Orangutan
Among the options, only the orangutan, a great ape, fashions tools from sticks: some wild orangutan populations modify small sticks and use them to probe tree trunks for food such as honey.
- ✓ (b) Some wild orangutan populations modify small sticks and probe tree trunks with them for food such as honey; Sumatran orangutans also modify sticks to open Neesia fruits.
- ✗ (d) The sloth bear eats termites and ants, but it digs them out with its long curved claws and sucks them up; it is not known to make tools.
- ✗ (c) Otters are not known for making stick tools to scrape insects out of wood.
Remember · Orangutan: stick tools to probe tree trunks for food such as honey. Sloth bear: claws and suction to eat termites, no tools.
Sources
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Orangutan ↗ · reference work “Orangutans in some wild populations modify small sticks, which they hold in their lips while probing in tree trunks for food such as honey. … including the modification of sticks by a population of Sumatran orangutans to open Neesia fruits and more efficiently harvest their seeds”
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Sloth bear ↗ · reference work “Sloth bears have shaggy, dusty-black coats; pale, short-haired muzzles; and long, curved claws which they use to excavate termites and ants. … Adult sloth bears are missing their top two front teeth (incisors), which enables them to suck up termites and other insects with ease.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·