In what is first of its kind, scientists have discovered that chimpanzees in Senegal beat the summer heat by taking shelter in caves.
Researchers claim this is the first known case of regular cave use by the ape species and it also intrigued them to see the primates hunt smaller mammals with shap sticks.
Even after making a few direct observations, Pruetz and her team was able to assess the extent to which the cave is used, by using clues that are left behind on sandy cave floors — like tracks, droppings, and food remains.
According to the research, the caves were used at the end of the dry season in May and June.
Jill Pruetz is an anthropologist at Iowa State University who led the research team that started its fieldwork back in 2001.
Pruetz said,
It took years and years for the chimpanzees to get habituated [to the researchers’ presence]. As soon as we would walk anywhere close, it would scare them out of the caves.
William McGrew of Cambridge University also supported the notion and said,
The behavior appears to be an adjustment to heat stress. No one has ever before published reports of apes in caves. This is one of those cases in which the apes genuinely surprise us, exceeding our expectations and imaginations.
Pruetz’s paper on this subject is all set to appear in a forthcoming issue of Primates journal.