Females shape hunting of vertebrates in wild bonobos

Hunting and meat consumption are widely considered key drivers of human evolution, and hypotheses about their origins draw on comparisons with our closest living relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos. These comparisons typically set up a behavioral dichotomy in which chimpanzees are characterized by cooperative hunting of arboreal primates by male-dominated parties, whereas bonobo hunts are thought to involve the opportunistic targeting of terrestrial ungulates, primarily by individual females.^1,2,3 Observations from two habituated bonobo communities at LuiKotale covering 10 years challenge this dichotomy. LuiKotale bonobos hunted both terrestrial ungulates (42%) and arboreal primates (43% of vertebrate prey), with red colobus monkeys comprising the majority of primate prey (77%). Males and females hunted arboreal primates at similar rates, and females accounted for most non-primate captures. Female age affected the hunting frequency of primates and ungulates, with the former being biased to younger and the latter to older females. The prominent role of female bonobos in hunting supports predictions that relate hunting activity to intersexual dominance relations rather than risk aversion, with the dominant sex being more active. Comparing data from neighboring communities revealed differences and suggests that social and environmental parameters affect prey choice by each community in different ways. Together, these findings challenge the assumption that chimpanzee-like, male-biased hunting represents the ancestral condition. They highlight the contribution of females to obtaining vertebrate prey, call for a reassessment of the role of females in hunting and meat sharing, and by extension, the framing of models of early hominin subsistence and social organization.