![]() 9 in the International Journal of Primatology (opens in new tab). The new findings were published online Feb. This gruesome event could explain why pregnant female chimps typically isolate themselves from their social group when it's time for them to give birth, going on "maternity leave" to protect their babies, the researchers of that study concluded. In 2017, in another study, scientists reported a male chimpanzee in western Tanzania stealing and cannibalizing a newborn chimp moments after its birth - the first time that this behavior had been observed in these primates. For instance, scientists described an incident in 2017 in which a male chimpanzee in Senegal was attacked, killed and partly cannibalized by members of his former community.Įven chimpanzee babies aren't off-limits. On rare occasions, their cannibalistic behavior can even extend to individuals within their own social group. "This has important implications for our understanding of the nutritional benefits of meat-eating among primates, and highlights the need for future studies that measure the nutritional content of specific tissues and examine which are preferentially consumed or shared," the study authors concluded.Īnd when it comes to meat eating, it's not just other primates that chimps find delicious they've been known to feast on rival chimpanzees, too. The chimps killed and consumed adult monkeys, on the other hand, using various methods, though they were most likely to begin these meals with the viscera - internal organs in the body's main cavities - which were easier to access than the adult brains. In the photo on the right, he uses his right hand to hold the monkey down, and consumes muscle from the inner thigh of the right hind leg. In the photo on the left, he holds the carcass in his left hand, and sucks the brain from the skull. Screen captures show videotaped meat-eating by an adult male chimpanzee in the Kasakela community at Gombe National Park, Tanzania. "Twice, we observed the possessor sucking on the head, presumably extracting the brain," the scientists wrote. Whenever a chimp caught a young monkey, they all typically used a similar method to kill and eat them, biting down on the head and pulling hard, "apparently trying to remove the body from the skull," according to the study. For adult monkeys, the chimps also were interested in the brains, but they cracked the skulls first only 44 percent of the time. Prior research suggested that chimps found monkey brains to be especially desirable the scientists cited a chimpanzee study from 1973 that noted, "The brain is the only organ for which marked preference is regularly shown, and the eating of brain tissue is always a slow, meticulous procedure with a definite undertone of enjoyment."įor the new study, the team recorded 29 incidents of monkey-eating by eight chimpanzees, and found that if the monkey was a juvenile, the chimps first went for the head 91 percent of the time. They also contain certain fatty acids that are absent from plants and are known, at least in humans, to be important for brain function and for lessening the damage from some diseases, the study authors reported. ![]() Fun fact: This type of movement is known as brachiation! While most monkeys are limited to leaping between tree, or scurrying along the tops of branches.Brains, especially mammal brains, are especially high in fat. Does it swing through the trees? Apes have greater mobility in their shoulder joints, so they can use their arms to gracefully swing from tree to tree. An easy way to remember this? Humans are apes, and we don’t have tails!Ģ. Does it have a tail? Most monkeys have a tail, but apes don’t. All you need to do is ask yourself three questions:ġ. So, how can you tell the difference? It’s not as confusing as you might think. They belong to two different groups of primates! But the reality? Not only are they not the same animal. ![]() I am 100 in support, and am so glad this. We all also show our emotions by using different facial expressions.īecause monkeys and apes have much in common, it’s easy to think they are the same animal. ABOUT US Congratulations to the Project Chimps team and its partners on this historic achievement for chimpanzees. We all share forward-facing eyes for depth perception and flexible limbs to move between branches (who else has fond memories of the monkey bars?!). Just like humans, monkeys and apes are primates and have evolved to live among trees.
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