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  • Procolobus kirkii  (2)
  • 1
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Springer
    International journal of primatology 18 (1997), S. 235-246 
    ISSN: 1573-8604
    Keywords: Procolobus kirkii ; charcoal ; feeding ; adsorption ; phenolics
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Colobus monkeys on the African island of Zanzibar eat charcoal from burned trees and lying near kilns, where it is produced for cooking. This behavior may be a learned response for counteracting toxicity due to phenolic and similar compounds that occur in significant concentrations in the Indian almond (Terminalia catappa) leaves and mango (Mangifera indica) leaves which constitute a major part of their diet. Accordingly, we studied the adsorption of organic materials from hot water extracts of Indian almond and mango leaves by five charcoals collected in Zanzibar. For comparison, we also evaluated three commercial powdered activated charcoals. Three African charcoals collected at kilns adsorbed more organic material than two kinds collected from burned tree stumps. The commercial activated charcoals adsorbed the organic material best, as expected, yet the African kiln charcoals adsorbed surprisingly well. Thus, the hypothesized function of charcoal eating is supported.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 2
    ISSN: 1573-8604
    Keywords: Zanzibar red colobus ; Procolobus kirkii ; charcoal eating ; geophagy
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The Zanzibar red colobus monkey is the only primate, aside from humans, known to eat charcoal in the wild. All age classes and both sexes eat charcoal, but only those groups living in perennial gardens or near human dwellings do so. The habit appears to be transmitted from mother to offspring by imitation, but how it developed in the first place is unknown. Sources of charcoal include charred stumps, logs, and branches, as well as that produced in kilns by humans. These charcoals adsorb organic materials, such as phenolics, particularly well and, as a consequence, remove these compounds, which have the potential to be toxic or interfere with digestion or both. The extreme inertness of charcoal makes it an unlikely source of minerals to the colobus. We conclude that, by eating charcoal, monkeys living in gardens with a high density of food species dominated by exotic trees — Indian almond and mango — are able to exploit this abundant food resource that is high in total phenolic content much more effectively than in the absence of charcoal. The young leaves of these exotic tree species are also very high in protein and highly digestible. The benefits of charcoal eating are most likely due to the fact that charcoal adsorbs phenolics better than proteins. This may explain in large part why the birth rates and population densities of the colobus living in the Indian almond and mango habitat adjacent to the Jozani Forest are significantly higher than those in the ground-water forest. The population density of colobus in this small area is the highest ever recorded for a nonhuman anthropoid (≥700/km 2 ). It may not, however, be a stable situation, as there are indications of higher levels of aggression, lower recruitment into the medium-juvenile size class, and overbrowsing.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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