Chonpe, a macaque monkey, uses hair to floss her teeth.


A monkey in Japan flosses its teeth with its hair, demonstrating that humans aren't the only animals that clean their teeth and invent tools to help with the task.

Jean-Baptiste Leca hypothesized that the hair might have become stuck in Chonpe's teeth, and as she drew the hairs out, she may have noticed the presence of food remains attached to them.

The immediate reward of licking the food remains off the hair may have encouraged her to repeat the behavior for the same effect in the future,

The use of twigs as toothpicks has been reported in chimpanzees, orangutans, and bonobos.

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