2025/05/01 by Dora Biro, Jana Muschinski, Philippa Hammond +10 · 2 voices · 2 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · Environmental Science · #Primate Behavior and Ecology #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
paper · doi:10.1002/ajpa.70057
openalex publication_date 2025/05/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
OBJECTIVES: Baboons possess sophisticated physical and social cognitive abilities; hence, the lack of evidence to date of large-scale behavioral variation in these primates is puzzling. Here we studied a candidate for such variation-the stripping of bark from Acacia robusta trees for consumption of the sap and soft tissue underneath-in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. MATERIALS AND METHODS: . RESULTS: Camera traps confirmed the presence of baboons at all habitat plots, and we identified regional clumping in the distribution of the behavior, a pattern consistent across two consecutive years. Proportion and mean height/width of A. robusta did not predict whether bark-stripping behavior was present at a given site, nor did broader ecological variables such as habitat type and distance to the nearest water source. However, stripping sites had significantly higher numbers of A. robusta than non-stripping sites, and within a given bark-stripping site, baboons preferred to strip taller and wider trees among those available. DISCUSSION: The prominent geographical clustering we uncovered may have been driven by opportunity (i.e., the prevalence of A. robusta at a given site), but is also consistent with a possible (non-mutually exclusive) cultural interpretation. We propose avenues for future research on Gorongosa's baboons to better quantify the relative contributions of ecology, genetics, and social learning to the prevalence of bark stripping. We also briefly consider the potential relevance of baboon bark stripping to elucidating early hominin foraging strategies.