Date: May 23, 2019
Source: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary
Anthropology
An
international team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary
Anthropology in Leipzig and the University of Osnabrück, Germany, have observed
wild chimpanzees in the Loango National Park, Gabon, eating tortoises. They
describe the first observations of this potentially cultural behavior where
chimpanzees hit tortoises against tree trunks until the tortoises' shells break
open and then feed on the meat.
"We
have known for decades that chimpanzees feed on meat from a variety of animal
species, but until now the consumption of reptiles has not been observed,"
says Tobias Deschner, a primatologist at the Max Planck Institute for
Evolutionary Anthropology. "What is particularly interesting is that they
use a percussive technique that they normally employ to open hard-shelled
fruits to gain access to meat of an animal that is almost inaccessible for any
other predator."
Posts
