Abstract
Although rarely observed, predation is thought to be an important factor in the evolution of primate life histories and behavior. Here I describe two incidents of snake predation on Cercopithecus mitis guenons from Kenya. The first case involved a juvenile blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni) in the Kakamega Forest, which died following a bite by a Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica gabonica). The snake’s attempts to ingest its prey were unsuccessful. In the second incident, a juvenile Sykes monkey (Cercopithecus mitis albogularis) at Gede Ruins National Monument died suddenly after suffering symptoms that are characteristic of bites inflicted by black mambas (Dendroaspis polylepis). In both cases circumstantial evidence suggests that attacks occurred during extended play sessions in dense vegetation on or near the ground. If so, the observations support the hypothesis that play may be a costly activity.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander RD (1974) The evolution of social behavior. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 5:325–383
Barrett L, Gaynor D, Rendall D, Mitchell D, Henzi SP (2004) Habitual cave use and thermoregulation in chacma baboons (Papio hamadryas ursinus). J Hum Evol 46:215–222
Bekoff M, Byers JA (1981) A critical reanalysis of the ontogeny and phylogeny of mammalian social and locomotory play: an ethological hornet’s nest. In: Immelmann GW, Barlow LP, Main M (eds) Behavioral development. Cambridge University Press, London, pp 296–337
Byers JA, Walker C (1995) Refining the motor training hypothesis for the evolution of play. Am Nat 146:25–40
Chalmers NR, Lockehaydon J (1984) Correlations among measures of playfulness and skillfulness in captive common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus jacchus). Dev Psychobiol 17:191–208
Cheney DL, Wrangham RW (1987) Predation. In: Smuts BB, Cheney DL, Seyfarth RM, Wrangham RW, Struhsaker TT (eds) Primate societies. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp 227–239
Chism J, Rowell T, Olson D (1984) Life history patterns of female patas monkeys. In: Small M (ed) Female primates: studies by women primatologists. Liss, New York, pp 175–190
Cords M (1986) Interspecific and intraspecific variation in diet of two forest guenons, Cercopithecus ascanius and C. mitis. J Anim Ecol 55:811–827
Cords M (1987) Mixed-species association of Cercopithecus monkeys in the Kakamega forest, Kenya. University of California Press, Berkeley
Correa HKM, Coutinho PEG (1997) Fatal attack of a pit viper, Bothrops jararaca, on an infant buffy-tufted ear marmoset (Callithrix aurita). Primates 38:215–217
Fagen R (1981) Animal play behavior. Oxford University Press, New York
Fagen R (1993) Primate juveniles and primate play. In: Pereira ME, Fairbanks LA (eds) Juvenile primates: life history, development and behavior. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 182–196
Forbes CD, Turpie AGG, Ferguson JC, Mcnicol GP, Douglas AS (1969) Effect of Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica) venom on blood coagulation platelets and fibrinolytic enzyme system. J Clin Pathol 22:312–316
Harcourt R (1991) Survivorship costs of play in the South American fur seal. Anim Behav 42:509–511
Hyslop S, Marsh NA (1991) Comparison of the physiological effects in rabbits of Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica) venoms from different sources. Toxicon 29:1235–1250
Isbell LA (2006) Snakes as agents of evolutionary change in primate brains. J Hum Evol 51:1–35
Marsh NA, Whaler BC (1984) The Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica)––its biology, venom components and toxicology. Toxicon 22:669–694
Meaney MJ, Stewart J, Beatty WW (1985) Sex differences in social play: the socialization of sex roles. Adv Study Behav 15:1–58
Spawls S (2002) A field guide to the reptiles of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Academic, London
Spawls S, Branch B (1995) The dangerous snakes of Africa: natural history, species directory, venoms, and snakebite. Ralph Curtis-Books, Sanibel Island
Spinka M, Newberry RC, Bekoff M (2001) Mammalian play: training for the unexpected. Q Rev Biol 76:141–168
Acknowledgments
The observations were made during a research project funded by the National Science Foundation (BSC 0550509), Columbia University, and the Earthwatch Institute. I am grateful to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Government of Kenya, for permission to conduct research in the country, and to the National Museums of Kenya for allowing me to work at Gede Ruins National Monument. Special thanks go to Andrea Durczik for sharing her detailed notes on the Sykes monkey death.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Foerster, S. Two incidents of venomous snakebite on juvenile blue and Sykes monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni and C. m. albogularis). Primates 49, 300–303 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-008-0098-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-008-0098-x