Skip to main content
Log in

Newly acquired feeding habits among the chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania

  • Published:
Human Evolution

Abstract

The M group chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) of the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania, began to feed on three agricultural fruit species, guava, mango and lemon. It took them 7–8 years until they began to taste these fruits since the villagers left the park area in 1974. Although adult chimpanzees are conservative in their feeding habits, they are capable of rapidly acquiring new feeding habits, or new traditions, once they notice that the food is suitable.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Albrecht H. &Dunnett S. C., 1971.Chimpanzees in western africa. In (W. Wickler, Ed.) Studies in Ethology, 138 pp. München: Piper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beatty H., 1951.A note on the behaviour of the chimpanzee. Journal of Mammalogy, 32: 118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cambefort J. P., 1981.A comparative study of culturally transmitted patterns of feeding habits in the chacma baboon Papio ursinusand the vervet monkey Cercopithecus aethiops. Folia primatologica, 36: 243–263.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodall J. van Lawick, 1968.The behaviour of free-living chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream Reserve. Animal Behaviour Monographs, 1: 161–311.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hiraiwa-Hasegawa M., Hasegawa T. &Nishida T., 1984.Demographic study of a large-sized unit group of chimpanzees in the Mahale Mountains, Tanzania: A preliminary report. Primates, 25: 401–413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hladik C.M., 1977.Chimpanzees of Gabon and chimpanzees of Gombe: Some comparative data on the diet. In (T. H. Clutton-Brock, Ed.). Primate Ecology: Studies of Feeding and Ranging Behaviour in Lemurs, Monkeys and Apes, pp. 481–501. London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Itani J., 1958.On the acquisition and propagation of a new food habit in the natural groups of the wild Japanese monkey at Takasakiyama. Primates 1: 84–98. In Japanese.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kano T., 1972.Distribution and adaptation of the chimpanzee on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika. Kyoto University African Studies, 7: 37–129.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kano T. &Mulavwa, M., 1984.Feeding ecology of the pygmy chimpanzees (Pan paniscus)of Wamba. In (R. L. Susman, Ed.). The pygmy Chimpanzee: The Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, pp. 233–274. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kawai M., 1965.Newly acquired precultural behavior of the natural troop of Japanese monkeys on Koshima Island. Primates, 6: 1–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kortlandt A., 1962.Chimpanzees in the wild. Scientific American 206: 128–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kortlandt A., 1967.Experimentation with chimpanzees in the wild. In (D. Starck, R. Schneider & H. J. Kuhn, Eds.). Neue Ergebnisse der Primatologie, pp. 208–224. Stuttgart: Fischer Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kortlandt A., 1981.Comment. Current Anthropology, 22: 136–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuroda S., 1982. The Pygmy Chimpanzee: Its Secret Life. 234 pp. Tokyo: Chikumashobo. In Japanese.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T., 1973. Children of the Mountain Spirits. Tokyo: Chikumashobo.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T., 1974.Ecology of wild chimpanzees. In (R. Otsuka, J. Tanaka & T. Nishida, eds.) Ecology of Man, pp. 15–60. Tokyo: Kyoritsushyppan. In Japanese.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T., 1976.The bark-eating habits in primates, with special reference to their status in the diet of wild chimpanzees. Folia primatologica, 25: 277–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T., 1977.Chimpanzee of the Mahale Mountains. I. Ecology and social structure of unit group. In (J. Itani, Ed.). The Chimpanzee, pp. 543–538. Tokyo: Kodansha.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T. (1979).The social structure of chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains. In (D. A. Hamburg & E. R. McCown, Eds.) The Great Apes, pp. 73–121. Menlo Park: Benjamin/Cummings.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T., 1980.On chimpanzee culture. Kagaku, 50: 146–154. In Japanese.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T., 1981. The World of Wild Chimpanzees. Tokyo: Chuôkoronsha. In Japanese.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T. &Uehara S., 1983.Natural diet of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii):Long-term record from the Mahale Mountains, Tanzania. African Study Monographs, 3: 109–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T., Wrangham R. W., Goodall J. &Uehara S. (1983).Local differences in plant-feeding habits of chimpanzees between the Mahale Mountains and the Gombe National Park, Tanzania. Journal of Human Evolution, 12: 467–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sugiyama Y. &Koman, J., 1979.Tool-using and—making behavior in wild chimpanzees at Bossou, Guinea. Primates, 20: 513–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takasaki H., 1983.Mahale chimpanzees taste mangoes—toward acquisition of a new food item? Primates, 24: 273–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uehara S., 1982.Seasonal changes in the techniques employed by wild chimpanzees in the Mahale Mountains, Tanzania, to feed on termites (Pseudacanthotermes spiniger). Folia primatologica, 37: 44–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wrangham R. W., 1977.Feeding behaviour of chimpanzees in Gombe National Park, Tanzania. In (T. H. Clutton-Brock, Ed.). Primate Ecology: Studies of Feeding and Ranging Behaviour in Lemurs, Monkeys and Apes, pp. 503–538. London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Takahata, Y., Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M., Takasaki, H. et al. Newly acquired feeding habits among the chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania. Hum. Evol. 1, 277–284 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02436585

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02436585

Key words

Navigation