Original Article

New Records on Prey Capture and Meat Eating by Bonobos at Lui Kotale, Salonga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo
Gottfried Hohmann, Barbara Fruth

Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany

Address of Corresponding Author

Folia Primatol 2008;79:103-110 (DOI: 10.1159/000110679)

  Key Words

• Bonobo
• Pan paniscus
• Chimpanzee
• Pan troglodytes
• Prey capture
• Meat eating
• Carnivory
• Food sharing
• Salonga National Park

  Abstract

Compared to data from chimpanzees, observations on prey capture and meat eating by bonobos (Pan paniscus) are still rare, fragmentary and anecdotal. Here we present new and unpublished information from wild bonobos at Lui Kotale, Salonga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo. Our observations confirm that solitary and terrestrial ungulates are the major prey. However, bonobos at Lui Kotale also consumed other mammalian prey, including other primates. Evidence from direct observations is complemented with information obtained by macroscopic analyses of fresh faeces. Results suggest that bonobos consume meat with frequencies similar to some chimpanzee populations. The data emphasize differences between the two Pan species in terms of prey species selection and prey capture.

Copyright © 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Gottfried Hohmann
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Deutscher Platz 6
DE-04103 Leipzig (Germany)
Tel./Fax +49 341 3550 208, E-Mail hohmann@eva.mpg.de

  Article Information

Received: May 3, 2007
Accepted after revision: July 15, 2007
Published online: November 1, 2007
Number of Print Pages : 8
Number of Figures : 0, Number of Tables : 2, Number of References : 31