In the Shadow of Man

Goodall recounts several instances of the Gombe chimps preying on baboons. Chimps eat many animals, including bush bucks, bush pigs, colobus monkeys, red and blue monkeys, and baboons. Before Goodall’s arrival in Tanzania, some people had even reported chimps stealing local infants and trying to eat them. Goodall adds that in many places where chimps live in the wild, the local people regard them as a highly prized food too.

Goodall often saw the Gombe chimps eating meat, but observing their hunting behavior was more difficult. Sometimes, their kills seemed accidental as chimps happened to cross paths with small animals. Other times, however, the chimps seem to cooperate to carry out a planned kill. Goodall admits that she saw only two instances of chimps killing prey. In the more dramatic incident, she witnessed four Gombe chimps suddenly leave their meal to stalk a troop of passing baboons. They cornered a young baboon in a tree, and Rodolf grabbed and killed it. The chimps avoided the wrath of the other baboons, and Rodolf kept the kill for himself, refusing to share it with all the other begging males.

This behavior puzzled Goodall, since Rodolf wasn’t the group’s highest-ranking male. She wondered how he could refuse to share with the other males, especially Mike.