Hunting Activity Among Naturalistically Housed Chimpanzees <em>(</em><em>Pan troglodytes)</em> at the Fundació Mona (Girona, Spain). Predation, Occasional Consumption and Strategies in Rehabilitated Animals

Abstract

Predatory behavior in wild chimpanzees and other primates has been well documented over the last 30 years. However, as it is an opportunistic behavior, conditions which may promote such behavior are left up to chance. Until now, predatory behavior among captive chimpanzees has been poorly documented. In this paper, we present five instances providing evidence of predatory behavior: four performed by isolated individuals and one carried out in cooperation. The evidence of group predation involved the chimpanzees adopting different roles as pursuers and ambushers. Prey was partially eaten in some cases, but not in the social episode. This study confirms that naturalistic environments allow chimpanzees to enhance species-typical behavioral patterns.

Keywords

• predatory behavior
• hunting
• cooperative behavior
• captivity
• welfare