The Chimpanzees of the Taï Forest: Behavioural Ecology and EvolutionThe chimpanzees are the closest living evolutionary relatives to our own species, Homo sapiens. As such, they have long exerted a fascination over those with an interest in human evolution, and what makes humans unique. Chrisophe Boesch and Hedwige Boesch-Acherman undertook an incredible observational study of a group of wild chimpanzees of the Tai forest in Cote D'Ivoire, spending some fifteen years in the West African jungle with them. This fascinating book is the result of these years of painstaking research among the chimps. Chimpanzee behavior is documented here in all its impressive diversity and variety. Aggression, territoriality, social structure and relationships, reproductive strategies, hunting, tool use - each of these is given its own chapter, along with topics such as chimp intelligence, life histories, and demography. The authors take care to place their observations within the broader context of research in behavioral ecology, and to compare and contrast their findings with other important work on chimpanzee groups, such as that by Jane Goodall. The book concludes with a summary chapter relating the chimpanzee findings to our understanding of human evolution. Combining careful scientific observation with a store of entertaining anecdotes, this is a lively and readable book. It also succeeds in shedding light on some of the central questions around the evolutionary relationships between the primates, and in particular the affinity between chimpanzees and humans. 'This is a major contribution to the study of the great apes, and a significant addition to debates about human/ape evolution. It has all the makings of a classic monograph. |
Contents
Chimpanzees humans and the forest | 1 |
Demography of the Tai chimpanzee community | 15 |
Female life histories | 43 |
Reproductive strategies of male chimpanzees | 66 |
Social structure of the Tai chimpanzees | 88 |
Social relationships within the community | 109 |
Intergroup aggression and territoriality in Tai chimpanzees | 128 |
Hunting behaviour in wild chimpanzees | 158 |
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Common terms and phrases
abilities adolescent adult females adult males aggression alpha male animals association attack Boesch and Boesch bonobos Bossou Brutus capture Cercopithecus Chapter chim chimpanzee community chimpanzee populations coalitions cognitive colobus monkeys consortship cooperation Côte d'Ivoire Coula nuts cracking nuts Darwin diana monkeys drumming environment evolution expect explain factors Falstaff fission-fusion Fitz frequently Gombe Gombe chimpanzees Goodall grooming group members hammer Héra hunters hunting behaviour increase individuals infants interactions interbirth interval investment Kendo Kibale learning leopard Loukoum Macho Mahale chimpanzees mating meat months mothers Nishida nut-cracking observed oestrus offspring Ondine Panda nuts panzees party patterns period predation prey primates red colobus regularly remained reproductive success Salomé Schubert season seen sex ratio sexual swellings sharing social species strangers strategies study community survival Table Taï chimpanzees Taï females Taï forest Taï National Park territory theory of mind tool-use tree Ulysse whereas wild chimpanzees wounds Wrangham youngsters