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dc.contributor.authorFedurek, Pawel
dc.contributor.authorTkaczynski, Patrick
dc.contributor.authorAsiimwe, Caroline
dc.contributor.authorHobaiter, Catherine
dc.contributor.authorSamuni, Liran
dc.contributor.authorLowe, Adriana E.
dc.contributor.authorDijrian, Appolinaire Gnahe
dc.contributor.authorZuberbühler, Klaus
dc.contributor.authorWittig, Roman M.
dc.contributor.authorCrockford, Catherine
dc.date.accessioned2019-11-15T17:30:02Z
dc.date.available2019-11-15T17:30:02Z
dc.date.issued2019-10-05
dc.identifier263235938
dc.identifier38ffca9e-f534-4bd0-a2a7-4ec5fa3d1569
dc.identifier85074483513
dc.identifier000521566700001
dc.identifier.citationFedurek , P , Tkaczynski , P , Asiimwe , C , Hobaiter , C , Samuni , L , Lowe , A E , Dijrian , A G , Zuberbühler , K , Wittig , R M & Crockford , C 2019 , ' Maternal cannibalism in two populations of wild chimpanzees ' , Primates , vol. First Online . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-019-00765-6en
dc.identifier.issn0032-8332
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0001-8378-088X/work/64697356
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0002-3893-0524/work/64697858
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10023/18941
dc.description.abstractMaternal cannibalism has been reported in several animal taxa, prompting speculations that the behavior may be part of an evolved strategy. In chimpanzees, however, maternal cannibalism has been conspicuously absent, despite high levels of infant mortality and reports of non-maternal cannibalism. The typical response of chimpanzee mothers is to abandon their deceased infant, sometimes after prolonged periods of carrying and grooming the corpse. Here, we report two anomalous observations of maternal cannibalism in communities of wild chimpanzees in Uganda and Ivory Coast and discuss the evolutionary implications. Both infants likely died under different circumstances; one apparently as a result of premature birth, the other possibly as a result of infanticide. In both cases, the mothers consumed parts of the corpse and participated in meat sharing with other group members. Neither female presented any apparent signs of ill health before or after the events. We concluded that, in both cases, cannibalizing the infant was unlikely due to health-related issues by the mothers. We discuss these observations against a background of chimpanzee mothers consistently refraining from maternal cannibalism, despite ample opportunities and nutritional advantages. We conclude that maternal cannibalism is extremely rare in this primate, likely due to early and strong mother–offspring bond formation, which may have been profoundly disrupted in the current cases.
dc.format.extent7
dc.format.extent816733
dc.language.isoeng
dc.relation.ispartofPrimatesen
dc.subjectCannibalismen
dc.subjectChimpanzeeen
dc.subjectMaternal cannibalismen
dc.subjectParental investmenten
dc.subjectBF Psychologyen
dc.subjectQL Zoologyen
dc.subjectAnimal Science and Zoologyen
dc.subjectDASen
dc.subjectSDG 3 - Good Health and Well-beingen
dc.subject.lccBFen
dc.subject.lccQLen
dc.titleMaternal cannibalism in two populations of wild chimpanzeesen
dc.typeJournal articleen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. School of Psychology and Neuroscienceen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolutionen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Institute of Behavioural and Neural Sciencesen
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s10329-019-00765-6
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden


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