The hunting scene is a blood-chilling spectacle
By Nutan Shukla

USUALLY we know apes and monkeys as a fruit-eating animals, but some of them occasionally take to meat-eating for which they hunt in highly organised groups. The scene of hunting by chimpanzees is a real blood-chilling spectacle. Normally these animals eat fruits, leaves, roots, stems and bark, but when on hunting expedition they take on antelopes, wild pigs and monkeys, particularly colobus.

In West African rain forests chimpanzees eat meat at least once a week. To achieve their weekly goal these apes must hunt together. Superior intelligence and a degree of cooperation ensure that they can manipulate the movements of the monkey troop and at the end of the hunt catch their prey. Not all the chimps in a party take part in the hunt — usually half-a-dozen adult males — and each has its role to play. The youngest moves along behind the monkeys preventing them from settling and slowly moves the troop forwards. The oldest finds a place in the forest ahead where he can ambush the prey moving towards him. Flankers, on either side of the troop, ensure the sides of trap are covered and that the monkeys are unable to escape that way.

On the other hand colobus monkeys are safe as long as the forest canopy is continuous and there are plenty of escape routes through the trees. After all these creatures are light and agile and able to travel along highways, whereas chimps are neither light or agile nor good leapers and can only progress through the trees when they can swing easily from one branch to the next. But if the canopy is broken and escape routes are few, the monkeys must be wary for the chimpanzees are likely to launch a surprise attack.

The hunt starts with slow but deliberate movements, with the chimps travelling on the ground. The normal group chatter stops and the chimpanzees move in silence. They search the branches for monkeys above, and when the other members of the hunt are in place, a couple of the more agile chimps race up the trees. They pick out one or two isolated monkeys and begin the chase. The colobus flee, heading straight for the old ambusher ahead. At the right moment, he reveals himself and the colobus panic. They cannot go on and they cannot escape to either side. In that moment of indecision, the chimpanzees pounce and, with blood-curdling shrieks, proclaim to the group waiting below that they have caught a colobus. The rest, mainly females and youngsters, join the chorus until the forest is filled with terrifying sounds of screams, pant-hoots and barks. The calls tell the troop that food is now available and the hunt is over. Outlying chimps home-in on the callers.

The highest-ranking males tear the still-living monkey apart. The pieces are distributed to lesser-ranking males and females. Sometimes, the screaming prey is eviscerated before being brought to the ground. Other methods of killing include biting into the head or whirling the body about until the head smashes against a rock or branch. A large animal, such as juvenile bush-pig, may have its legs broken by slamming it against a tree. It may not die until much later, when it is slowly torn apart.

Chimpanzees hunt a variety of prey, including young bush-pigs, baby baboons, bushbuck fawns, mice, rats and small birds. Mandrill monkeys, wearing red, blue and white stripes on their face, like gaudy intimidating war-paint, are formidable and unexpectedly ferocious predators. They gather in enormous groups, containing 50-150 individuals and bring terror to the West African rain forests.

While on the hunt females and young males of mandrills act as flushers and flankers, channelling a 100-metre-wide swathe of devastation through the open forest. There is little undergrowth and the drills are able to move quickly. Terrified prey scatters in all directions, often running blindly into the advancing line of alpha males, the butchers of the group. Antelope, monkeys and virtually anything else that moves are quickly dispatched or disabled, their gory corpses left on the ground. The predators continue their onslaught, not stopping to feed, but killing every living thing in their path. At a given signal, the hunt is called off and the mandrills scour the battlefield for dead and dying animals. The huge troop settles down to feed.

This feature was published on May 16, 1999