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Chimpanzees observed ganging up on a leopard and stealing its food

By Michael Marshall

9 May 2019

Chimpanzees eating in a tree

A stolen meal

Description:Courtesy of Dr Michio Nakamura

A group of chimpanzees stole a freshly killed animal from a leopard, then ate it. It is the first time the apes have been seen challenging such a large and dangerous predator. The finding could show how ancient apes and hominins first gained access to meat as a food source, and hints at the origins of cooperative hunting.

Michio Nakamura of Kyoto University in Japan and his colleagues study a group of wild chimpanzees living in Mahale Mountains National Park in Tanzania. On the morning of 15 November 2016, Nakamura and…

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