Cases of maternal cannibalism in wild bonobos (Pan paniscus) from two different field sites, Wamba and Kokolopori, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Maternal cannibalism, whereby a mother consumes her own offspring, occurs in various animal taxa and is commonly explained by nutritional stress or environmental pressures. It is rare in nonhuman primates and is considered an aberrant behavior only observed under high-stress conditions. It was there...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Primates 2017-01, Vol.58 (1), p.7-12
Main Authors: Tokuyama, Nahoko, Moore, Deborah Lynn, Graham, Kirsty Emma, Lokasola, Albert, Furuichi, Takeshi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Ecology
Animals
Behavioral Sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Cannibalism
Carnivory
Death
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Evolutionary Biology
Female
Field study
Hierarchy, Social
Infants
Life Sciences
Meat
Monkeys & apes
News and Perspectives
Offspring
Pan paniscus
Pan paniscus - physiology
Social Behavior
Zoology
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Summary:Maternal cannibalism, whereby a mother consumes her own offspring, occurs in various animal taxa and is commonly explained by nutritional stress or environmental pressures. It is rare in nonhuman primates and is considered an aberrant behavior only observed under high-stress conditions. It was therefore surprising when, in the first reported case of cannibalism in wild bonobos, a mother consumed part of the dead infant at LuiKotale. Here we report two more cases of maternal cannibalism by wild bonobos at two different study sites, Wamba and Kokolopori. The dead infants’ mothers participated in the cannibalism in both cases. At Kokolopori, although the mother did consume part of the carcass, it was held and shared by another dominant female. At Wamba, the mother was a dominant female within the community and was the primary consumer of the carcass. In both cases, cannibalism resembled other meat-eating events, with the dominant female controlling meat consumption. Infanticide was not observed in either case, but its occurrence could not be ruled out. Although rare, the occurrence of maternal cannibalism at three different study sites suggests that this may represent part of the behavioral repertoire of bonobos, rather than an aberrant behavior.
ISSN:0032-8332
1610-7365
DOI:10.1007/s10329-016-0582-7