Antelope Predation by Nigerian Forest Baboons: Ecological and Behavioural Correlates

Sommer, Volker; Lowe, Adriana; Jesus, Goncalo; Alberts, Nienke; Bouquet, Yaëlle; Inglis, David M.; Petersdorf, Megan; Riel, Eelco van; Thompson, James M.; Ross, Caroline

doi:10.1159/000445830

Cited by 7 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…One possibility is that crabs are not easily obtained at other sites, because streams are perhaps more shallow at Nimba. However, evidence of crab consumption by baboons at Gashaka (Nigeria), in a forest where chimpanzees also occur, suggests otherwise (Sommer et al, 2016). Another possibility is that meat-eating is limited at Seringbara (i.e.…”

Section: Significance Of Crabs For Chimpanzeesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crab-fishing by chimpanzees in the Nimba Mountains, Guinea

Koops

Wrangham

Cumberlidge

et al. 2019

Journal of Human Evolution

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The significance of aquatic food resources for hominins is poorly understood, despite evidence of consumption as early as 1.95 million years ago (Ma). Here we present the first evidence of a nonhuman ape habitually catching and consuming aquatic crabs. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in the rainforest of the Nimba Mountains (Guinea) consumed freshwater crabs year-round, irrespective of rainfall or ripe fruit availability. Parties of females and offspring fished for crabs more than predicted and for longer durations than adult males. Across months, crab-fishing was negatively correlated with ant-dipping, suggesting a similar nutritional role. These findings contribute to our understanding of aquatic faunivory among hominins. First, aquatic faunivory can occur in closed forests in addition to open wetlands. Second, aquatic fauna could have been a staple part of some hominin diets, rather than merely a fallback food. Third, the habitual consumption of aquatic fauna could have been especially important for females and their immature offspring. In addition to providing small amounts of essential fatty acids, crabs might also be eaten for their micronutrients such as sodium and calcium, especially by females and young individuals who may have limited access to meat.

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Section: Significance Of Crabs For Chimpanzeesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crab-fishing by chimpanzees in the Nimba Mountains, Guinea

Koops

Wrangham

Cumberlidge

et al. 2019

Journal of Human Evolution

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“…The environment can be an important factor in the amount of predation by primates. Baboons living in close forests present a much lower predation rate than those on open savannahs (Sommer et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Other primates also hunt and consume vertebrates opportunistically. Olive baboons (Papio anubis) prey upon at least 3 species of primates, 10 ungulates, 4 rodents, 3 hares, 1 bat, 4 herpetofauna and 6 species of bird (Strum 1975;Sommer et al 2016). Hamadryas baboons (P. hamadryas) can present a vertebrate predation rate of 2.8/100 hours of observation, preying on dik dik (Madoqua kirki), hares, Guinea fowl, among other preys (Schreier et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Vertebrate predation data for robust capuchins (Sapajus) living in savannah environments are lacking to date; there is only a case report of predation of an adult rock cavie, Kerodon rupestris (Filho et al 2021), and data on snake predation (Falótico et al 2018b;Silva et al 2019). In other primates, groups living in closed forest environments presented lower predation rates than ones living in open savannahs (Sommer et al 2016). If the same is true for capuchins, it is expected that the capuchins from dry environments present higher predation rates than forest capuchins.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Vertebrate Predation and Tool-Aided Capture of Prey by Savannah Wild Capuchin Monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus)

Falótico

2022

Int J Primatol

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Vertebrate predation was a vital behavior during human evolution. Some non-human primates, such as baboons and chimpanzees, frequently hunt and consume vertebrate prey. Capuchin monkeys (Cebus and Sapajus) are omnivorous neotropical primates, and although vertebrate prey is not their primary food source, they hunt and consume those opportunistically. Bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) living in semi-arid savannah environments use stone tools to obtain food resources. Still, only one population at Serra da Capivara National Park is known to use stick probes to enhance predation. I present here data collected for two years on vertebrate predation and consumption by two groups of capuchins in this population. Sampling all observed vertebrate predation events, I observed 72 events of predation, with an overall rate of 4.6 events/100h. The most frequent preys were lizards and snakes, followed by birds and rodents, including larger ones like adult rocky cavies (Kerodon rupestris). Although rare, bats were also observed being preyed on by these monkeys. The predation of vertebrate prey, even larger ones (compared to their body size), the use of tools to aid predation, and the high terrestriality degree in the savannah environment, make robust capuchins a suitable model of hominid behavior to understand human evolution, as well as a good comparison with the Afro-Eurasian primate models.

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“…Predatory behaviours have also been observed in larger-bodied species, most notably on young antelopes by mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) (Kudo and Mitani, 1985) but are also widespread across all Papio species (Strum, 1975;Hausfater, 1976;Davies and Cowlishaw, 1996;Goffe and Fischer, 2016;Sommer et al, 2016;Schreier et al, 2019). Bonobos (Pan paniscus) are able to predate mature duiker (Cephalophus monticola, C. dorsalis, and C. nigrifrons) (Hohmann and Fruth, 2008), whilst chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) prey on antelope (C. monticola and C. callipygus) and bushpig (Potamochoerus porcus) (Mitani and Watts, 1999), with predation on smaller monkey species such as red colobus (Piliocolobus badius) (Mitani and Watts, 1999) receiving significant attention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of predation and meat-eating by chacma baboons in an Afromontane environment

et al. 2022

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Meat-eating among non-human primates has been well documented but its prevalence among Afromontane baboons is understudied. In this study we report the predatory and meat-eating behaviours of a habituated group of gray-footed chacma baboons (Papio ursinus griseipes) living in an Afromontane environment in South Africa. We calculated a vertebrate-eating rate of 1 every 78.5 hours, increasing to 58.1 hours when unsuccessful predation attempts were included. A key food source was young antelopes, particularly bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus), which were consumed once every 115 observation hours. Similar to other baboon research sites, predations seemed mostly opportunistic, adult males regularly scrounged and monopolised prey, there was no evidence they used an active kill bite, and active sharing was absent. This is the first baboon study to report predation of rock python (Python sebae) eggs and likely scavenging of a leopard (Panthera pardus) kill (bushbuck) cached in a tree. We also describe several scramble kleptoparasitism events, tolerating active defence from antelope parents, and the baboons inhibiting public information about predations. In the latter case, baboons with meat often hid beyond the periphery of the group, reducing the likelihood of scrounging by competitors. This often led to prey carcasses being discarded without being fully exploited and potentially providing resources to scavengers. We also highlight the absence of encounters with numerous species, suggesting the baboons are a key component of several species’ landscapes of fear. Given these findings it seems likely that their ecological role in the Soutpansberg has been undervalued, and such conclusions may also hold for other baboon populations.

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Antelope Predation by Nigerian Forest Baboons: Ecological and Behavioural Correlates

Cited by 7 publications

References 33 publications

Crab-fishing by chimpanzees in the Nimba Mountains, Guinea

Crab-fishing by chimpanzees in the Nimba Mountains, Guinea

Vertebrate Predation and Tool-Aided Capture of Prey by Savannah Wild Capuchin Monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus)

Patterns of predation and meat-eating by chacma baboons in an Afromontane environment

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