We dehydrated the fecal samples on site using a solar “poop” dehydrator and stored them on silica, in a freezer, until we took them to the University of Calgary’s Isotope Science Laboratory for analyses. We collected several hundred fecal samples from mothers, juvenile siblings, and infants varying in age from birth to seven years old, as some individuals continued to make nipple contacts up to this age. We assessed observational limitations by using a novel fecal stable isotope approach to physiologically determine the timing of age-related feeding transitions and to measure the relative contributions of maternal milk to adult foods in the diets of wild chimpanzee infants at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda.
A major challenge in quantifying infant diets and in identifying the timing of feeding transitions comes from our inability to know from observations alone whether infants are actually drinking maternal milk when they make nipple contacts, and to distinguish between mouthing and ingesting of vegetation. In wild primates, it is difficult to precisely measure what infants are eating. Understanding the diets and feeding patterns of nonhuman primate infants will help us establish early life history parameters in our hominin ancestors, which can shed light on the diversity of contemporary infant feeding practiced between and within human populations. To better understand the evolutionary contexts under which our diverse strategies of infant feeding evolved, we can look to nonhuman primates. For example, the optimal ages at which infants ought to be completely weaned or begin consuming solid foods are regularly questioned by researchers and in the media. In conclusion, chimpanzees are omnivores animals though the higher percentage of their diet consists of vegetables.Humans vary considerably in our strategies of infant feeding. Infant chimpanzees especially the orphaned babies can feed on milk this can be seen at Tchimpounga sanctuary. Chimpanzees have also been seen consuming honey.Ĭhimpanzees in Guinea, West Africa have been observed taking palm wine, the natural sugars in pal nuts ferment with tropical heat creating alcohol beverage that they take by creating vessels out of leaves.
Chimpanzees are also seen hunting occasionally for invertebrates like pattas monkeys, yellow baboons, red tailed monkeys, western red colobus monkeys and small antelopes like duikers.Ĭhimpanzees always spend most of their day eating, early in the morning when chimpanzees wake up they always eat a variety of food depending on the availability near them and after midday they start being selective by eating more ripe fruits and leaves that contain a lot of water.Ĭhimpanzees at Gombe national park in Tanzania have been observed eating Apilia mossambicensis plant which helps them to deal with parasites in their digestive systems, chimpanzees consume a lot of figs which is their source of energy. During hunting sessions the whole chimpanzee family always participates by others chasing the monkey, some block the monkey and others ambush it but once he prey has been caught the whole group shares the meat.Ĭhimpanzees sometimes use leaves as bowels for drinking water and they also use stones for breaking hard nuts. Bonobo chimpanzees also love fruits with about 57% of their diet composed of fruits. Chimpanzees are omnivores animals that need a lot of nutrients in their diet that is why they eat up to 100 types of plants on top of supplementing their diets with meat, insects, ants, bird eggs, pith, bark, buds and termites though the always prefer vegetables to other foods.Ĭommon chimpanzees always prefer to eat fruits other than any other diet but in case of no availability they can eat leaves, shoot, stems, flowers, seeds, resin and bark.
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