About Chimpanzees
Chimp Behaviour
Hunting
One of the earliest and most significant discoveries made by Jane Goodall was that chimpanzees hunt for and eat meat. During her first year she observed an adult male chimp, David Greybeard, an adult female, and a juvenile eating what Jane realized was a young bushpig. Before this, chimpanzees had been assumed to be vegetarian.
On that first occasion, it was not clear whether the chimpanzees had caught and killed the prey, or merely come upon a carcass. But soon after, Jane observed the hunting process when a group of chimpanzees attacked, killed, and ate a red colobus monkey that had climbed high into a tree. The hunters covered all available escape routes while one adolescent male crept up after the prey and captured it, whereupon the other males instantly rushed up and seized parts of the carcass.
Successful hunters typically share some portion of their kill with other group members in response to a variety of begging behaviours. Most of the captured animal is eaten, including the brain. Meat is a favoured food item among chimpanzees, but makes up less than two percent of their overall diet.
