Interspecific conflicts, no canids of felids

[TheHyenid76]

Non-lethal handling of a captured duiker by a bonobo (Pan paniscus) at Wamba: Implications for prey image in bonobos

Introduction 

Wild bonobos hunt and consume the meat of small to medium-sized terrestrial mammals such as anomalures (e.g., Anomalurus derbianus, Anomalurus beecrofti), forest antelopes (e.g., bay duikers [Cephalophus castaneus], blue duikers [Philantomba monticola]), and other primates (e.g., galagos [Galago demidovii], red-tailed monkeys [Cercipithecus ascanius], and wolf guenons [Cercopithecus wolfi]) (Fruth & Hohmann 2002; Hohmann & Fruth 2008; Surbeck & Hohmann 2008; Sakamaki et al. 2016; Samuni et al. 2020). However, there are some differences in hunting and meat-eating behaviors among allopatric bonobo populations (Hohmann & Fruth 2003). As mentioned above, prey consumed by bonobos at some field sites include monkeys and duikers (Fruth & Hohmann 2002; Hohmann & Fruth 2008; Sakamaki et al. 2016; Samuni et al. 2020). On the other hand, at Wamba, in the Luo Scientific Reserve, Democratic Republic of the Congo, hunting and meat-eating behaviors by bonobos have been infrequent compared to those at other study sites (Hohmann & Fruth 2003; Sakamaki et al. 2016), and at this site bonobos have never been observed to hunt for mammals other than anomalures (Anomalurus spp.) (Ihobe 1992; Kano 1992; Hirata et al. 2010). Moreover, a recent study showed that there was a group preference for duiker or anomalure hunting even in a sympatric bonobo population (Samuni et al. 2020).

Some previous studies have described hunting and consuming other mammals that are recognized as food as prey image in the Pan genus (Boesch & Boesch 1989; Ihobe 1992). Boesch & Boesch (1989) suggested that chimpanzees at Taï Forest, Côte d‘Ivoire, have a specialized prey image in which monkeys, mostly colobus, are recognized as food, citing an observation that a juvenile male chimpanzee accidentally caught a blue duiker and handled with it as a toy, not as food. Therefore, these differences of prey profile between and within bonobo populations may likely be affected by prey image per respective population. Environmental conditions also contribute to the prey profile across bonobo populations (Wrangham 1975; Sakamaki et al. 2016), which suggests the necessity of studying predator–prey interactions at the specified population level.

Understanding the differences in prey images or prey preference in bonobos may be useful for interpreting the variety of bonobo cultures that previous studies have described (Hohmann & Fruth 2003; Samuni et al. 2020). Here, I report the first case of an adult female bonobo at Wamba capturing a blue duiker and carrying it around, alive, for approximately 30 min. This case report is important because it contributes to our understanding of the differences in prey profiles, inter-species interactions, and prey image among allopatric bonobo populations.

Non-lethal handling of a captured duiker by a bonobo (Pan paniscus) at Wamba: Implications for prey image in bonobos Reply