Skip to main content

The Hunting Behavior and Carnivory of Wild Chimpanzees

Newton-Fisher, Nicholas E. (2015) The Hunting Behavior and Carnivory of Wild Chimpanzees. In: Handbook of Paleoanthropology. Springer, pp. 1661-1691. ISBN 978-3-642-39979-4. (doi:10.1007/978-3-642-39979-4_42) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:36363)

PDF Publisher pdf
Language: English

Restricted to Repository staff only
[thumbnail of Newton-Fisher_2014_The Hunting Behavior and Carnivory of Wild Chimpanzees.pdf]
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39979-4_42

Abstract

The pursuit, capture and consumption of small- and medium-sized vertebrates appear to be typical of all chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) populations, although large variation exists. Red colobus monkeys (Piliocolobus sp.) appear to be the preferred prey, but intensity and frequency of hunting varies from month to month and among populations. Hunting is a predominately male activity and is typically opportunistic, although there is some evidence of searching for prey. The degree of cooperation during hunting, as well as prey selection, varies between East and West African populations and may be related to the way the kill is divided: in West Africa, hunters often collaborate, with kills tending to be shared according to participation, whereas in East Africa, cooperation in hunting is more limited and the kill is typically consumed selfishly, or divided in response to harassment (begging) by others. In some cases it may be shared tactically, trading meat with other males to strengthen alliances. The adaptive function of chimpanzee hunting is not well understood and a variety of hypotheses have been proposed. Ideas that chimpanzees hunt to make up for nutritional shortfalls, or to acquire meat to trade for sex, have failed to find empirical support, while recent work favors nutritional benefits of some kind. Nevertheless, cross-population studies evaluating multiple hypotheses are in their infancy, and there is much to be learned. In particular, very little is known about hunting of non-primates, particularly ungulates, or the impact that variation in levels of hunting, and of carcasses to share and consume, has on patterns of chimpanzee behavior. If one goal of studying this topic is to shed light on the behavioral ecology of hominins, then efforts to understand the diversity of hunting and carnivory in wild chimpanzees are needed.

Item Type: Book section
DOI/Identification number: 10.1007/978-3-642-39979-4_42
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology
Q Science > QH Natural history > QH541 Ecology
Q Science > QL Zoology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation
Depositing User: Nicholas Newton-Fisher
Date Deposited: 14 Nov 2013 10:21 UTC
Last Modified: 17 Aug 2022 10:56 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/36363 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Newton-Fisher, Nicholas E..

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7657-2641
CReDIT Contributor Roles:
  • Depositors only (login required):

Total unique views for this document in KAR since July 2020. For more details click on the image.