Monkeys Hunt Animals Like Lizards and Snakes when Fruit Scarce
Researchers recorded 281 vertebrate meals and found the monkeys ate more meat when fruit was scarce, often starting with brains and organs.
- On Wednesday, zoologist Noemi Spagnoletti and colleagues published findings in PLOS One showing that bearded capuchins hunt and consume small vertebrates more frequently when fruit is less abundant.
- Spagnoletti analyzed data from a long-term field study in Brazil conducted between 2006 and 2010, where the team logged over 5,000 hours of observations documenting dietary behaviors.
- The team recorded 281 instances of vertebrate predation, noting the monkeys often consumed brains and guts first for fats; those finding their own food hunted 1.9 times as often as fed groups.
- Primatologist Susana Carvalho of Gorongosa National Park suggests "meat may be important to buffer seasonal changes," noting these behaviors model how early hominin diets emerged.
- Biological anthropologist Margaret Bryer of the University of Wisconsin-Madison notes that observing diverse species like capuchins offers new research opportunities to revisit the fossil record and identify potential prey species.
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26 Articles
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Joo-young = As the fruit they primarily eat becomes scarce, Brazilian capuchin monkeys hunt more small vertebrates such as lizards and rodents...
When fruits and veggies are scarce, monkeys hunt for meat
Capuchin monkeys hunt prey when fruits and vegetables become scarce, potentially mirroring the habits of human ancestors, according to a study published in PLOS One by Susana Carvalho (Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique), Noemi Spagnoletti (Sapienza University of Rome, Italy) and colleagues.
The seasonal shortage of fruits and vegetables pushes bearded capuchin monkeys to significantly increase the hunting of small vertebrates, a behavior that researchers link directly with survival strategies that human ancestors could employ during periods of climate instability. This is the main conclusion of [...]
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