Cellulose and lignin, which make the leaves more difficult to digest, also decreased by day's end. This study found that the leaves' hemicellulose - a more digestible fiber - and nonstructural carbohydrates - simple sugars and starch - increased 15 percent to 100 percent, respectively, from morning to evening. The chimpanzees, however, eat young leaves of the saplings found near the forest floor. Pterygota mildbraedii is a very large tree, common throughout the Ngogo chimpanzee habitat. Leaf samples were taken from different saplings and at various feeding times during the day. These were compared to nutrition samples from Pterygota mildbraedii and Celtis africana. The Ngogo chimpanzee community is the largest observed in the world - more than 180 animals - and has been actively studied since 1995.ĭaily feeding observations from 2002-2011, made primarily during the dry season months of June through August, of 41 adult male chimpanzees were analyzed for eating patterns. "So we wanted to take a closer look at chimpanzees by comparing the primates' feeding habits to the nutritional composition of these leaves throughout the day."ĭata regarding the chimpanzees and two species of saplings, Pterygota mildbraedii and Celtis africana, were collected from Ngogo in Uganda's Kibale National Park. "But we know there is a correlation between nutritional quality and daily feeding patterns for other animals, such as domesticated sheep," Carlson said.
#Food habits of chimpanzees full
Other researchers have proposed the animals prefer eating leaves at that time to feel full and facilitate greater nutrient absorption overnight, or that this daily eating pattern results from social dynamics, where chimpanzees typically spend late afternoons in smaller foraging groups on the ground where these leaves are found. It is estimated there are 300,000 chimpanzees in the wild.Ĭhimpanzees, whose diet is composed of fruit, leaves, plant stalks, roots, insects and other vertebrate animals, frequently consume various leaves at the end of the day. These primates, which live in forest areas of Africa, are part of the hominidae family that also includes humans, gorillas and orangutans. Carlson, who is a member of Purdue's Ingestive Behavior Research Center, is studying the dietary habits of wild chimpanzees as part of his research on the history of diet in human evolution. The study's results are published in the April American Journal of Primatology, and this work was funded by the National Science Foundation and L.S.B. "We can't say for sure if chimpanzees are consciously selecting the leaves when nutritional content is greatest, but this correlation presents an intriguing hypothesis to explain feeding behavior in this primate species and mechanisms for ingestive behavior in general." Access nutrients is stored in the body as fat, but Chimpanzees are highly active creatures that need as much energy as they can get, so it is not likely for a Chimpanzee to be "fat." Also, like that of humans and other mammals, the Chimpanzee has a four-chambered heart, as well as arteries and veins, completely containing the blood within the blood vessels of its two-circuit circulatory system."There is an association between the time of day primates eat certain resources and the nutritional quality of those resources, suggesting consumption may track nutrient content," said Bryce Carlson, an assistant professor of anthropology who studies primate ecology and nutrition in human evolution. They have a closed circulatory system, making them able to transport the nutrients, oxygen, and water by blood cells, to where it is needed. Food and water is digested and then transported by the circulatory system as nutrients, and wastes are eliminated after digestion.
The Chimpanzee has a similar anatomy to that of humans when comparing digestion and circulation. They have been known to kill and eat baboons, bush pigs, smaller monkeys, and small antelope. Chimpanzees will also hunt larger prey depending on availability of other food. The use of the stick or stiff grass resembles the use of utensils by humans. They usually utilize sticks or stiff grass and weeds to dig out ants and termites from the hole that they live in. An interesting fact about the Chimpanzees' eating habits when feeding on termites and ants is they have been observed fashioning tools to help with their feeding. They do however eat ants, termites, birds' eggs.
Their diet consists primarily of fruits, seeds, stems, leaves, and nuts.
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