Maternal cannibalism in two populations of wild chimpanzees
| Autor: | Adriana Lowe, Caroline Asiimwe, Pawel Fedurek, Klaus Zuberbühler, Appolinaire Gnahe Dijrian, Liran Samuni, Roman M. Wittig, Catherine Crockford, Patrick J. Tkaczynski, Catherine Hobaiter |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | University of St Andrews. School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews. Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolution, University of St Andrews. Institute of Behavioural and Neural Sciences |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Předmět: |
Male
0106 biological sciences Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes BF Psychology BF 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Maternal cannibalism QH301 SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being biology.animal Animals Cannibalism Uganda 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Primate 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology Maternal Behavior Parental investment QL Behavior Animal biology 05 social sciences DAS QL Zoology Bond formation Infant mortality Cote d'Ivoire Animals Newborn Animal ecology Original Article Female Animal Science and Zoology Ill health Demography |
| Zdroj: | Primates; Journal of Primatology Primates |
| ISSN: | 0032-8332 |
| Popis: | Maternal cannibalism has been reported in several animal taxa, prompting speculations that the behavior may be part of an evolved strategy. In chimpanzees, however, maternal cannibalism has been conspicuously absent, despite high levels of infant mortality and reports of non-maternal cannibalism. The typical response of chimpanzee mothers is to abandon their deceased infant, sometimes after prolonged periods of carrying and grooming the corpse. Here, we report two anomalous observations of maternal cannibalism in communities of wild chimpanzees in Uganda and Ivory Coast and discuss the evolutionary implications. Both infants likely died under different circumstances; one apparently as a result of premature birth, the other possibly as a result of infanticide. In both cases, the mothers consumed parts of the corpse and participated in meat sharing with other group members. Neither female presented any apparent signs of ill health before or after the events. We concluded that, in both cases, cannibalizing the infant was unlikely due to health-related issues by the mothers. We discuss these observations against a background of chimpanzee mothers consistently refraining from maternal cannibalism, despite ample opportunities and nutritional advantages. We conclude that maternal cannibalism is extremely rare in this primate, likely due to early and strong mother–offspring bond formation, which may have been profoundly disrupted in the current cases. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s10329-019-00765-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|