Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 4, 2026
Development of a Uterosacral Ligament Suspension Rat Model
Published on: August 17, 2022
The First Evidence of Intermittent Rectal Prolapse in a Wild Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)
1Department of Animal Science, Teikyo University of Science, Yamanashi, Japan.
Background:
Rectal prolapse in wild chimpanzees has been rarely reported. We document a case of rectal prolapse in a wild young male chimpanzee at Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania.
Methods:
An affected young male in the Mahale M group was observed with photographs/video and diagnosed according to operational criteria used in human (Oxford grading system). Cause and course of the prolapse were estimated by a set of longitudinal field data.
Results:
An intermittently self-reducing full-thickness rectal prolapse was diagnosed. Protrusion fluctuated within minutes; tenesmus and diarrhea were absent; and the mucosa remained bright red and viable, without necrosis or myiasis. Post-traumatic pelvic-floor/anal-sphincter nerve dysfunction after conspecific bite injury on the buttock was estimated as the cause.
Conclusions:
This is the first report of rectal prolapse in wild chimpanzees. The detailed natural course of this persistent condition without medical intervention provides information relevant to case-specific management decisions in wild apes.
