First evidence of prey capture and meat eating by wild Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys in Yunnan, China

• Main Author: Baoping REN, Dayong LI, Zhijin LIU, Baoguo LI, Fuwen WEI, Ming LI
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 2010-04-01
• Series: Current Zoology
• Subjects: Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys; Rhinopithecus bieti; Colobinae; Hunting behavior; Meat consumption; Male-biased activity
• Online Access: http://www.currentzoology.org/paperdetail.asp?id=11471

Most extant nonhuman primates occasionally prey on fast-moving, warm-blooded animals; however, Indriidae, Lepilemuridae, and Colobinae either scavenged for meat or did not eat meat at all. Here we report six cases of animal consumption by the snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti) in a wild, habituated group between 2004 and 2009 in Yunnan, China. At present, only males in an all-male unit within the study group were involved in active hunting. Such a male-biased activity may be related to the group structure and spatial spread of R. bieti. Two females were observed eating freshly killed birds. The findings confirmed that R. bieti engaged in scavenging and, when hunting, employed a cranio-cervical bite to kill their prey. Meat eating is likely a nutrient maximization feeding strategy in R. bieti, especially in males. A begging behavior occurred after successful prey capture. Although begging was observed, no sharing of the meat was seen. The present findings illuminate the dietary diversity of R. bieti and their ability to expand their dietary spectrum [Current Zoology 56 (2 ): 227–231, 2010].