Hunting roles in chimpanzees? Cognitive aspects of group activity in this species
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.14.25583Keywords:
cooperation, hunting, cognition, animal behaviour, 'Pan troglodytes'
Abstract
Observations of chimpanzees in their natural habitat show that as well as competing, these primates often cooperate by forming coalitions, patrolling the boundaries of their territories, and hunting in groups. Perhaps because of the important role it is thought to have played in the evolution of our own species, group hunting behaviours have attracted considerable research interest. The underlying question is to what extent do chimpanzees hunt cooperatively in a human-like manner? To answer this question, we must consider not only their behaviour, but also the cognitive abilities required, given that any two similar behaviours may respond to different psychological mechanisms. Research on the cognitive aspect of cooperation has been carried out mainly through experiments with chimpanzees in captivity. The available evidence suggests that, with experience, chimpanzees are capable of coordination between individuals, but it is unclear whether they can also cooperate, i.e., act according to a common strategy.
Downloads
Author Biography
Anna Albiach-Serrano, CEU Cardenal Herrera University, CEU Universities (Valencia, Spain).
References
Albiach-Serrano, A. (2015). Cooperation in primates: A critical, methodological review. Interaction Studies, 16(3), 361–382. https://doi.org/10.1075/is.16.3.02alb
BBC Studios. (2008). Chimpanzees team up to attack a monkey in the wild [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1WBs74W4ik
Boesch, C. (1994). Chimpanzees-red colobus monkeys: A predator-prey system. Animal Behaviour, 47(5), 1135–1148. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1994.1152
Boesch, C. (2002). Cooperative hunting roles among taï chimpanzees. Human Nature, 13(1), 27–46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-002-1013-6
Boesch, C., & Boesch, H. (1989). Hunting behavior of wild chimpanzees in the Taï National Park. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 78(4), 547–573. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.1330780410
Chalmeau, R. (1994). Do chimpanzees cooperate in a learning task? Primates, 35(3), 385–392. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02382735
Crawford, M. P. (1937). The cooperative solving of problems by young chimpanzees. Comparative Psychology Monographs, 14, 1–88.
Duguid, S., & Melis, A. P. (2020). How animals collaborate: Underlying proximate mechanisms. WIREs: Cognitive Science, 11(5), e1529. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1529
Gilby, I. C., Eberly, L. E., & Wrangham, R. W. (2008). Economic profitability of social predation among wild chimpanzees: Individual variation promotes cooperation. Animal Behaviour, 75(2), 351–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.06.008
Hirata, S., & Fuwa, K. (2007). Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) learn to act with other individuals in a cooperative task. Primates, 48(1), 13–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-006-0022-1
Hirata, S., Morimura, N., & Fuwa, K. (2010). Intentional communication and comprehension of the partner’s role in experimental cooperative tasks. In E. V. Lonsdorf, S. R. Ross, & T. Matsuzawa (Eds.), The mind of the chimpanzee (pp. 251-264). University of Chicago Press. https://www.wrc.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/publications/SatoshiHirata/Hirata_Morimura_Fuwa_2010.pdf
Hobaiter, C., Samuni, L., Mullins, C., Akankwasa, W. J., & Zuberbühler, K. (2017). Variation in hunting behaviour in neighbouring chimpanzee communities in the Budongo forest, Uganda. PLOS ONE, 12(6), e0178065. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0178065
Köhler, W. (1925). The mentality of apes. Harcourt, Brace & Co.
Living Links. (s. d.). Chimpanzee cooperation task video clip. 1930’s Nissen and Crawford study [Video]. https://www.emory.edu/LIVING_LINKS/media/video.shtml
Melis, A. P., Hare, B., & Tomasello, M. (2006). Chimpanzees recruit the best collaborators. Science, 311(5765), 1297–1300. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1123007
Melis, A. P., & Tomasello, M. (2019). Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) coordinate by communicating in a collaborative problem-solving task. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 286(1901), 20190408. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0408
Mitani, J. C. (2009). Cooperation and competition in chimpanzees: Current understanding and future challenges. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 18(5), 215–227. https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.20229
Povinelli, D. J., & O’Neill, D. K. (2000). Do chimpanzees use their gestures to instruct each other? In S. Baron-Cohen, H. Tager-flusberg & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Understanding other minds: Perspectives from developmental cognitive neuroscience (pp. 459–487). Oxford University Press.
Tomasello, M., Carpenter, M., Call, J., Behne, T., & Moll, H. (2005). Understanding and sharing intentions: The origins of cultural cognition. The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 28(5), 675–691. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X05000129
Downloads
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
-
Abstract720
-
PDF150
-
(Español)2
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
All the documents in the OJS platform are open access and property of their respective authors.
Authors publishing in the journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors keep the rights and guarantee Metode Science Studies Journal the right to be the first publication of the document, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of authorship and publication in the journal.
- Authors are allowed and encouraged to spread their work through electronic means using personal or institutional websites (institutional open archives, personal websites or professional and academic networks profiles) once the text has been published.
Similar Articles
Most read articles by the same author(s)
Make a Submission
Language
Information
Keywords
