From small monkeys to antelopes, chimpanzees are known to hunt and eat a range of other animals .
Now, scientists have observed chimpanzees feasting on another animal for the first time - tortoises.
Tobias Deschner, a researcher on the study, said: “We have known for decades that chimpanzees feed on meat from a variety of animal species, but until now the consumption of reptiles has not been observed.”
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology witnessed the behaviour in chimpanzees living in the Loango National Park, Gabon.
Interestingly, the chimpanzees would crack the tortoises against tree trunks - a tactic often used to access fruits.
Simone Pika, who led the study, said: “Sometimes, younger animals or females were unable to crack open the tortoise on their own.
“They then regularly handed the tortoise over to a stronger male who cracked the tortoise's shell open and shared the meat with all other individuals present.”
In one case, an adult male cracked a tortoise, ate half of it, and then tucked the rest in a tree fork.
According to the researchers, this indicates that chimpanzees may plan for the future.
Ms Pika added: “The ability to plan for a future need, such as for instance hunger, has so far only been shown in non-human animals in experimental and/or captive settings.
“Many scholars still believe that future-oriented cognition is a uniquely human ability. Our findings thus suggest that even after decades of research, we have not yet grasped the full complexity of chimpanzees' intelligence and flexibility.”
