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27 - Spatial cognitive abilities in foraging chimpanzees

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 November 2019

By
Simone D. Ban  and
Emmanuelle Normand
Edited by
Christophe Boesch  and
Roman Wittig
Edited in association with
Catherine Crockford ,
Linda Vigilant ,
Tobias Deschner  and
Fabian Leendertz
Christophe Boesch
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany
Roman Wittig
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany
Catherine Crockford
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany
Linda Vigilant
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany
Tobias Deschner
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany
Fabian Leendertz
Affiliation:
Robert Koch-Institut, Germany
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Summary

After observing wild chimpanzees in Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire, for years, Professor Christophe Boesch and collaborators noticed behaviours indicating that the chimpanzees knew where they were heading hours before arrival. One can assume that animals living in such complex environments should possess developed cognitive abilities. To study their intelligence in the wild, we followed adult chimpanzees for long consecutive periods and collected detailed behavioural data including measurements of travel direction and distances, and feeding tree properties. We examined their spatial orientation abilities and found they travelled in a goal-directed manner, using different directions to reach the same feeding tree rather than using the same paths, which was consistent with the use of a Euclidean map. The content of their spatiotemporal memory, and revisiting and ranging behaviour, revealed that chimpanzees remembered the characteristics of the feeding trees and feeding experiences, and that the nutrient content of fruit impacted their travel path. Our investigations revealed that chimpanzees used many food-finding strategies, adding pieces to the puzzle of our closest relatives.

Keywords

ChimpanzeeTaï National ParkSpatial memorySpatial orientationFood-finding strategies
Type
Chapter
Information
The Chimpanzees of the Taï Forest
40 Years of Research
 , pp. 440 - 450
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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