Skip to main content

Infant carrying by a wild chimpanzee father at Bulindi, Uganda

Primates volume 60, pages 333–338 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Although infanticide by wild adult male chimpanzees has been reported from multiple sites, affiliative infant carrying by males is rare. We observed infant carrying by an alpha male chimpanzee at Bulindi (Uganda) on two consecutive mornings and collected faecal samples from the newborn infant female, her mother and all candidate fathers to determine whether the alpha male was the infant’s father using a likelihood-based method of paternity assignment. In contrast to previous observations of male care of orphans, in this case the mother was present during observations. Further, unlike reports of male aggression towards infants, the infant was reunited with her mother on the third morning, and survived. Neither mother nor infant presented visible injuries. The alpha male never directed aggression towards the infant. Rather, he displayed attentive behaviours, for example by holding the infant to his chest, supporting her while moving, grooming her, and ‘cuddling’ and ‘rocking’ her. Paternity results revealed with a high degree of certainty that the alpha male was the infant’s father. There are several alternative explanations for the male’s behaviour, but this unusual case also highlights the need for further studies to determine under what circumstances adult male chimpanzees can recognise their own offspring.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

References

  • Arandjelovic M, Guschanski K, Schubert G, Harris TR, Thalmann O, Siedel H, Vigilant L (2009) Two-step multiplex polymerase chain reaction improves the speed and accuracy of genotyping using DNA from noninvasive and museum samples. Mol Ecol Resour 9:28–36

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arcadi AC, Wrangham RW (1999) Infanticide in chimpanzees: review of cases and a new within-group observation from the Kanyawara study group in Kibale National Park. Primates 40:337–351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bãdescu I, Watts DP, Katzenberg MA, Sellen DW (2016) Alloparenting is associated with reduced maternal lactation effort and faster weaning in wild chimpanzees. R Soc Open Sci 3:160577

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Boesch C, Boesch-Achermann H (2000) The chimpanzees of the Taï Forest: behavioural ecology and evolution. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Boesch C, Kohou G, Néné H, Vigilant L (2006) Male competition and paternity in wild chimpanzees of the Taï Forest. Am J Phys Anthropol 130:103–115

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boesch C, Bolé C, Eckhardt N, Boesch H (2010) Altruism in forest chimpanzees: the case of adoption. PLoS One 5:e8901

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cibot M, Sabiiti T, McLennan MR (2017) Two cases of chimpanzees interacting with dead animals without food consumption at Bulindi, Hoima District, Uganda. Pan Afr News 24:6–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock TH (1991) The evolution of paternal care. Princeton University Press, Princetown

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunayer ES, Berman CM (2018) Infant handling among primates. Int J Comp Psychol 31:1–32. https://echolarship.org/uc/item/45w0r631

  • Emery Thompson M (2013) Reproductive ecology of female chimpanzees. Am J Primatol 75:222–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez-Duque E, Valeggia CR, Mendoza SP (2009) The biology of paternal care in human and nonhuman primates. Annu Rev Anthropol 38:115–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fragazi DM, Schwartz S, Shimosaka D (1982) Longitudinal observations of care and development of infant titi monkeys (Callicebus moloch). Am J Primatol 2:191–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodall J (1968) The behaviour of free-living chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream Reserve. Anim Behav Monogr 1:161–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodall J (1977) Infant killing and cannibalism in free-living chimpanzees. Folia Primatol 28:259–282

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goodall J (1986) The chimpanzees of Gombe: patterns of behavior. Harvard University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamai M, Nishida T, Takasaki H, Turner LA (1992) New records of within-group infanticide and cannibalism in wild chimpanzees. Primates 33:151–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hrdy SB (2016) Variable postpartum responsiveness among humans and other primates with “cooperative breeding”: a comparative and evolutionary perspective. Horm Behav 77:272–283

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Inoue E, Inoue-Murayama M, Vigilant L, Takenaka O, Nishida T (2008) Relatedness in wild chimpanzees: influence of paternity, male philopatry, and demographic factors. Am J Phys Anthropol 137:256–262

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kalinowski ST, Taper ML, Marshall TC (2007) Revising how the computer program CERVUS accommodates genotyping error increases success in paternity assignment. Mol Ecol 16:1099–1106

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kleiman DG, Malcolm JR (1981) The evolution of male parental investment in mammals. Q Rev Biol 52:39–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kutsukake N, Matsusaka T (2002) Incident of intense aggression by chimpanzees against an infant from another group in Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania. Am J Primatol 58:175–180

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lehmann J, Fickenscher G, Boesch C (2006) Kin biased investment in wild chimpanzees. Behaviour 143:931–955

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowe AE, Hobaiter C, Newton-Fisher NE (2018) Countering infanticide: chimpanzee mothers are sensitive to the relative risks posed by males on differing rank trajectories. Am J Phys Anthropol 168:3–9

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Matsumoto T, Itoh N, Inoue S, Nakamura M (2016) An observation of a severely disabled infant chimpanzee in the wild and her interactions with her mother. Primates 57:3–7

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy MS, Lester JD, Howe EJ, Arandjelovic M, Stanford CA, Vigilant L (2015) Genetic censuring identifies an unexpectedly sizeable population of an endangered large mammal in a fragmented forest landscape. BMC Ecol 15:21

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy MS, Lester JD, Langergraber KE, Stanford CB, Vigilant L (2018) Genetic analysis suggests dispersal among chimpanzees in a fragmented forest landscape in Uganda. Am J Primatol 80:e22902

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McLennan MR (2008) Beleaguered chimpanzees in the agricultural district of Hoima, western Uganda. Primate Conserv 23:45–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLennan MR, Asiimwe C (2016) Cars kill chimpanzees: case report of a wild chimpanzee killed on a road at Bulindi, Uganda. Primates 57:377–388

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McLennan MR, Plumptre AJ (2012) Protected apes, unprotected forest: composition, structure and diversity of riverine forest fragments and their conservation value in Uganda. Trop Conserv Sci 5:79–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLennan MR, Howell CP, Bardi M, Heistermann M (2019) Are human-dominated landscapes stressful for wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)? Biol Conserv 233:73–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitani JC, Watts DP, Amsler SJ (2010) Lethal intergroup aggression leads to territorial expansion in wild chimpanzees. Curr Biol 20:R507–R508

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murray CM, Wroblewski E, Pusey AE (2007) New case of intragroup infanticide in the chimpanzees of Gombe National Park. Int J Primatol 28:23–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray CM, Stanton MA, Lonsdorf EV, Wroblewski EE, Pusey AE (2016) Chimpanzee fathers bias their behaviour towards their offspring. R Soc Open Sci 3:160441

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Nakamura M, Hosaka K (2015) Orphans and allomothering. In: Nakamura M, Hosaka K, Itoh N, Zamma K (eds) Mahale chimpanzees: 50 years of research. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 421–432

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Newton-Fisher NE, Emery Thompson M, Reynolds V, Boesch C, Vigilant L (2010) Paternity and social rank in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) from the Budongo Forest, Uganda. Am J Phys Anthropol 142:417–428

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T (1979) The social structure of chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains. In: Hamburg DA, McCown ER (eds) The great apes. Benjamin/Cummings, Menlo Park, pp 73–121

    Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T (1983) Alloparental behaviour in wild chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains, Tanzania. Folia Primatol 41:1–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nishie H, Nakamura M (2018) A newborn infant chimpanzee snatched and cannibalized immediately after birth: implications for “maternity leave” in wild chimpanzee. Am J Phys Anthropol 165:194–199

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Notman H, Munn J (2003) A case of infant carrying by an adult male chimpanzee in the Budongo Forest. Pan Afr News 10:7–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nsubuga A, Robbins MM, Roeder AD, Morin PA, Boesch C, Vigilant L (2004) Factors affecting the amount of genomic DNA extracted from ape faeces and the identification of an improved sample storage method. Mol Ecol 13:2089–2094

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parr LA, Cohen M, de Waal F (2005) Influence of social context on the use of blended and graded facial displays in chimpanzees. Int J Primatol 26:73–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pusey AE (1990) Behavioral changes at adolescence in chimpanzees. Behaviour 115:203–246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rohwer S, Herron JC, Daly M (1999) Stepparental behaviour as mating effort in birds and other animals. Evol Hum Behav 20:367–390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sakamaki T, Itoh N, Nishida T (2001) An attempted within-group infanticide in wild chimpanzees. Primates 42:359–366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schradin C, Anzenberger G (2001) Costs of infant carrying in common marmosets, Callithrix jacchus: an experimental analysis. Anim Behav 62:289–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stanton MA, Lonsdorf EV, Pusey AE, Murray CM (2017) Do juveniles help or hinder? Influence of juvenile offspring on maternal behavior and reproductive outcomes in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). J Hum Evol 111:152–162

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Takahata Y (1985) Adult male chimpanzees kill and eat a male newborn infant: newly observed intragroup infanticide and cannibalism in Mahale National Park, Tanzania. Folia Primatol 44:161–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Schaik CP, Paul A (1996) Male care in primates: does it ever reflect paternity? Evol Anthopol 5:152–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vigilant L, Hofreiter M, Siedel H, Boesch C (2001) Paternity and relatedness in wild chimpanzee communities. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98:12890–12895

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Waller BM, Dunbar RIM (2005) Differential behavioural effects of silent bared teeth display and relaxed open mouth display in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Ethology 11:129–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallis J (1997) A survey of reproductive parameters in the free-ranging chimpanzees of Gombe National Park. J Reprod Fertil 109:297–307

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson ML, Boesch C, Fruth B, Furuichi T, Gilby IC, Hashimoto C, Hobaiter CL, Hohmann G, Itoh N, Koops K, Lloyd JN, Matsuzawa T, Mitani JC, Mjungu DC, Morgan D, Muller MN, Mundry R, Nakamura M, Pruetz J, Pusey AE, Riedel J, Sanz C, Schel AM, Simmons N, Waller M, Watts DP, White F, Wittig RM, Zuberbühler K, Wrangham RW (2014) Lethal aggression in Pan is better explained by adaptive strategies than human impacts. Nature 513:414–419

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wroblewski EE, Murray CM, Keele BF, Schumacher-Stankey JC, Hahn BH, Pusey AE (2009) Male dominance rank and reproductive success in chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii. Anim Behav 77:873–885

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Research approval and permission to export samples for genetic analyses was given by the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology, the Uganda Wildlife Authority, and the President’s Office. This research was supported in part by the Max Planck Society. We thank Moses Ssemahunge for assistance in the field. The manuscript was improved by helpful comments from Michio Nakamura and an anonymous reviewer.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK

    Marie Cibot & Matthew R. McLennan

  2. Bulindi Chimpanzee and Community Project, Hoima, Uganda

    Marie Cibot, Maureen S. McCarthy, Jack D. Lester, Tom Sabiiti & Matthew R. McLennan

  3. Anicoon Vétérinaires, Ploemeur/Larmor-Plage, France

    Marie Cibot

  4. Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany

    Maureen S. McCarthy, Jack D. Lester & Linda Vigilant

  5. Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall, UK

    Matthew R. McLennan

Authors
  1. Marie Cibot
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Maureen S. McCarthy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jack D. Lester
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Linda Vigilant
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Tom Sabiiti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Matthew R. McLennan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marie Cibot.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Online Resource 1 Clip showing SL grooming the newborn infant’s head. The infant (MA) is supported in SL’s lap and appears calm (MOV 66924 kb)

Online Resource 2 Clip showing SL sitting on a branch holding the infant MA with his right arm; he “cuddles” and “rocks” the infant close to his chest (MOV 91942 kb)

Online Resource 3 Clip showing the infant MA, still held by SL, appearing relatively active, moving her arms and looking around. SL then makes a day nest and lies on it with the infant (MOV 209725 kb)

Online Resource 4

Full descriptions of the behavioural observations between the 16th and 18th May 2016 (DOCX 19 kb)

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cibot, M., McCarthy, M.S., Lester, J.D. et al. Infant carrying by a wild chimpanzee father at Bulindi, Uganda. Primates 60, 333–338 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-019-00726-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-019-00726-z

Keywords

  • Infant carrying
  • Paternity
  • Pan troglodytes
  • Bulindi
  • Uganda