• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 874 1545
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Chimps Seen Snatching An Eagle’s Food In A Very Rare Scavenging Encounter

December 11, 2023 by Deborah Bloomfield

Chimpanzees have been spotted engaging in some extremely rare scavenging behavior in the wild. In Tanzania, researchers watched on as an alpha chimp appeared to snatch the body of a young antelope away from an eagle, before eating its meat with other chimps, stripping the body down to just a skull. 

The unusual observation was made in Issa Valley in western Tanzania. This is a rich habitat that’s home to eastern chimpanzees as well as many other species of mammals, including predators like lions, leopards, hyenas, and spotted wild dogs.

Advertisement

Chimpanzees are primarily vegetarians, but they’re known to occasionally consume meat from animals they’ve hunted down themselves. Scavenging like this, however, is very rare. 

“East African chimpanzees are endangered and this type of subsistence is very rare. Only specific populations have been observed confrontationally scavenging,” Sam Baker, lead study author and bioanthropologist and University College London, told IFLScience.

The incident unfolded in the early afternoon of October 24, 2021, when Baker and his field assistant were following a party of nine chimpanzees. Suddenly, an alpha chimp called Imba ran out of the thick forest into an open patch of long grass, from which a crowned eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus) was seen flying away. 

The researchers then saw Imba with the carcass of a juvenile bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus), a species of antelope native to the area, in his mouth. The altercation was not directly observed, but the scientists believe the eagle must have just hunted the bushbuck and dropped the body as a result of Imba’s intimidating presence. 

Advertisement

Imba took his “prize” and climbed up a tree to enjoy the fruits of his labor. Aware of the commotion, the rest of the group followed him and he quickly lost possession of the carcass. Some tusselling broke out and other males vied for the meat, while others begged. At least four individuals were observed consuming the bushbuck.

Eventually, Imba regained possession of the body and finished eating it. After a few hours, all that remained was the bushbuck’s skull. 

“The event resulted in the complete consumption of the carcass, supporting the existence of confrontational scavenging in Issa chimpanzees, the first recorded at Issa since habituation was completed in 2018. Crucially, if we acknowledge that chimpanzees are capable of confrontational scavenging, then previously published ‘hunts’ may have been scavenging unseen by human observers who arrived after the event,” the study authors write.

It’s possible this event was purely opportunistic. Alternatively, it might be part of a cultural trait that’s unique to the chimps of Issa. 

Advertisement

Either way, the fascinating behavior might shed some light on how and when early humans initially started getting their hands on meat, which may have been a key turning point in their evolution. 

As explained by the study authors, previous research “suggests confrontational scavenging provided a vital stepping-stone to hominin hunting − a transition that would propel humans from ‘marginal scavengers’, reliant on the ‘leftovers’ of carnivores, to successful hunter-scavengers proficient in aggressively securing fleshed carcasses from large predators.”

The study is published in the journal Primates.

Deborah Bloomfield
Deborah Bloomfield

Related posts:

  1. Facebook questions British watchdog’s authority to order Giphy sale
  2. S.Africa’s Zuma seeks to replace prosecutor in arms trial
  3. Indonesia’s new carbon tax signals higher power costs amid calls for clarity
  4. Hot As The Sun? People Are Still Confused About The Titan Implosion

Source Link: Chimps Seen Snatching An Eagle's Food In A Very Rare Scavenging Encounter

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • Getting To Uranus Could Take Half The Time With SpaceX’s Starship
  • Wind Phones: Does Talking To The Dead Really Help With Grief?
  • Fight, Flight, Or Fall Over: Meet The Myotonic Goat
  • JWST Confirms Day-Long Gamma-Ray Burst Was The Most Energetic Event Humanity Has Witnessed
  • These Birds Self-Cannibalize Their Own Organs To Complete Their Non-Stop 11,000-Kilometer Migration
  • “I’ve Never Seen This Happen Before”: Space Junk Found In Western Australian Desert Reported To Have Landed On Fire
  • Armadillo Girdled Lizards Turn Themselves Into An Ouroboros To Protect Their Underbelly
  • Opium Found In Rare Ancient Egyptian Vase Dedicated To “Great King” Xerxes
  • COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines Boosted Survival Almost 5-Fold In Some Cancer Patients
  • Sleuths Uncover Hidden Message In CIA’s Mysterious Kryptos Sculpture After 35 Years
  • Meat-Eating In US Cities Emits 329 Million Tons Of Carbon – But This Could Be Cut In Half
  • The World’s Oldest Known Chimpanzee Is Over 80 Years Old, And He’s Our Favorite Chill Childminder
  • Mysterious JWST Object “Capotauro” Might Be The First Galaxy In The Universe
  • 4.4-Million-Year-Old Ankle Bone Suggests Humans Evolved From African Ape-Like Ancestor
  • Hib: The Deadliest Disease You Might Never Have Heard Of (Because Vaccines Are Awesome)
  • The Legend Of Ol’ Rip The Horned Toad Who Reportedly Survived 31 Years Of Hibernation And Met President Coolidge
  • Newly Discovered “Reset Button” Lets Mathematicians Undo Any Rotation
  • Bear-Sized Snow Sloths? Meet Megalonyx, The Ice Age Giants That Lived Until 13,000 Years Ago
  • Why Can’t Mormons Drink Coffee?
  • In 1997, A Zoo Chimp Amazed Scientists By Gathering Rocks To Throw At Visitors
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 874 1545
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2025 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version