First evidence of prey capture and meat eating by wild Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys Rhinopithecus bieti in Yunnan,China  

作　　者：Baoping REN Dayong LI Zhijin LIU Baoguo LI Fuwen WEI Ming LI 

机构地区：[1]Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China [2]College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi＇an 710069, China

出　　处：《Current Zoology》2010年第2期227-231,共5页动物学报（英文版）

基　　金：granted by the key project of NSFC (No.30630016);the 973 Program (2007CB411600);the project of NSFC (No.30970442); China Program of TNC

摘　　要：Most extant nonhuman primates occasionally prey on fast-moving, warm-blooded animals; however, Indriidae, Lepilemuridae, and Colobinae either scavenged for meat or did not eat meat at all. Here we report six cases of animal consumption by the snub-nosed monkey Rhinopithecus bieti in a wild, habituated group between 2004 and 2009 in Yunnan, China. At present, only males in an all-male unit within the study group were involved in active hunting. Such a male-biased activity may be related to the group structure and spatial spread of R. bieti. Two females were observed eating freshly killed birds. The findings confirmed that R. bieti engaged in scavenging and, when hunting, employed a cranio-cervical bite to kill their prey. Meat eating is likely a nutrient maximization feeding strategy in R. bieti, especially in males. A begging behavior occurred after successful prey capture. Although begging was observed, no sharing of the meat was seen. The present findings illuminate the dietary diversity of R. bieti and their ability to expand their dietary spectrum.

关 键 词：Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys Rhinopithecus bieti COLOBINAE Hunting behavior Meat consumption Male-biased activity 

分 类 号：Q959.848[生物学—动物学] TS251.1[轻工技术与工程—农产品加工及贮藏工程]