Crab-eating chimpanzees intrigue Swiss scientists

Researchers from the University of Zurich have shown for the first time that chimpanzees catch and eat crabs. They say that it could even teach us about human evolution.

Chimpanzees, our closest living relatives, are mostly vegetarians but sometimes eat meat. Zurich researchers discovered chimpanzees in the rainforest of the Nimba Mountains in Guinea, which consume freshwater crab all year round. According to a press release, chimpanzees look for crabs in shallow streams by scraping up and down the riverbed with their fingers.external link.

"Our study is the first evidence that nonhuman monkeys regularly capture and eat aquatic fauna," says Kathelijne Koops, a researcher at the Department of Anthropology at the University of Zurich. Chimpanzees ate crabs, whether ripe fruits were available or not.

"Chimpanzees and their offspring fished the crab more often and longer than adult men, which we did not expect," says Koops. A possible explanation for this finding may be that crabs provide essential fatty acids, as well as micronutrients such as sodium and calcium, which are essential for the health of the mother and infant.

The findings on chimpanzees can help us understand why aquatic wildlife is becoming increasingly important as a source of nutrition during human evolution. It is thought that, 1.95 million years ago, the ancestors of Homo sapiens consumed turtles, crocodiles and fish. Regular consumption of these types of aquatic fauna with their rich nutritional value would have facilitated the growth of the developing brain in primitive man.

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This content was posted on June 8, 2018 at 12h20.
June 8, 2018 – 12:20

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