Evidence for the consumption of arboreal, diurnal primates by bonobos (Pan paniscus)
Article first published online: 3 DEC 2008
© 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
American Journal of Primatology
Volume 71, Issue 2, pages 171–174, February 2009
How to Cite
Surbeck, M., Fowler, A., Deimel, C. and Hohmann, G. (2009), Evidence for the consumption of arboreal, diurnal primates by bonobos (Pan paniscus). Am. J. Primatol., 71: 171–174. doi: 10.1002/ajp.20634
- Issue published online: 19 DEC 2008
- Article first published online: 3 DEC 2008
- Manuscript Received: 6 OCT 2008
- Manuscript Revised: 6 OCT 2008
- Manuscript Accepted: 6 OCT 2008
- Pan paniscus;
- meat eating;
We present evidence for the consumption of a diurnal, arboreal, group living primate by bonobos. The digit of an immature black mangabey (Lophocebus aterrimus) was found in the fresh feces of a bonobo (Pan paniscus) at the Lui Kotale study site, Democratic Republic of Congo. In close proximity to the fecal sample containing the remains of the digit, we also found a large part of the pelt of a black mangabey. Evidence suggests that the Lui Kotale bonobos consume more meat than other bonobo populations and have greater variation in the mammalian species exploited than previously thought [Hohmann & Fruth, Folia primatologica 79:103–110]. The current finding supports Stanford's argument [Current Anthropology 39:399–420] that some differences in the diet and behavior between chimpanzees (P. troglodytes) and bonobos are an artefact of the limited number of bonobo study populations. If bonobos did obtain the monkey by active hunting, this would challenge current evolutionary models relating the intra-specific aggression and violence seen in chimpanzees and humans to hunting and meat consumption [Wrangham, Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 42:1–30]. Am. J. Primatol. 71:171–174, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.