The Spear Monkeys Of Fongoli
These little primates use sticks that they sharpen themselves: a unique behavior in wildlife. Read more about the monkeys of Fongoli here.
Primates are one of the few animal species that use tools. But the chimpanzees from the Senegalese region of Fongoli are particularly talented and a great exception: They are astonishingly similar to humans in various ways .
These monkeys make pointed spears with which they try to kill their victims while they sleep. Then learn more about this particularly skilled chimpanzee species.
The monkeys of Fongoli
The monkeys of Fongoli have very special abilities that are normally only seen in humans. Other species of chimpanzee do not have these skills.
The Senegalese region of Fongoli is far from the impenetrable forests of the Congo, which are also home to chimpanzees. The ecosystem in which these monkeys reside is very similar to that of the first humans.
The Fongoli monkeys have the ability to make spears themselves. They take a branch, remove the side branches, and then use their incisors to sharpen one end of the branch. Isn’t that amazing?
The chimpanzees then use these self-made spears to hunt small mammals. They prefer to surprise their victims in the sleeping caves of Galagos. Because this is where small half-monkeys, also called “bush babies ”, seek protection because they make sounds similar to babies.
Foresight and intellect are necessary for this behavior. Certain abilities of these chimpanzees can therefore be compared with those of the primitive man Australopitecus.
Other differences
But the Fongoli monkeys also have other abilities that set them apart from other primates. They are very tolerant and value equality between males and females: the females also take part in the hunt.
This chimpanzee society is less violent. Strength is not necessarily in the foreground, as the spears enable weaker members to be successful.
But there is still cruelty and murder in Fongoli: For example, Foudouko, a tyrannical alpha male who held power over the group for two years, was brutally beaten by his opponent.
He then went into exile for five years! After that, he tried to reconnect and join the group. But that same night Foudouko was brutally murdered. One female even practiced cannibalism.
The changes in their society
Spear hunting is what makes the Fongoli chimpanzees unique. The social structure in which males and women are equally active as hunters is also different from that of other primates.
The spears presumably give these monkeys more independence, brute force is no longer so important to be successful. In the Gombe chimpanzees, which were researched by Jane Goodall, the males hunt 90% of the prey, in the Fongoli monkeys it is only 70%.
In Fongoli society, females or low-ranking males are not deprived of food, which is normal for other chimpanzee species. This respect apparently led to a highly developed hunting habit in the females.
About monkeys and humans
The savannah of Senegal is strongly reminiscent of the habitat in which the first humans lived. The Fongoli spear monkeys remind us of our wildest past.
They don’t just use the spear. The Fongoli chimpanzees spend little time in the branches of the trees and spend more and more time on the ground. This, too, is very similar to the evolutionary history of man.
However, we must remember that we must not think of the hunting techniques of these chimpanzees as they are in films. The monkeys with spears force them into the burrows of small animals in order to chase them out and then kill them with one bite.
The monkeys of Fongoli, the first cave dwellers
The Fongoli monkeys also remind us of our earliest history because the high temperatures and drought in their habitat forced them to seek refuge in caves that are cooler and more humid.
This could not be observed in other chimpanzee species. They are amazing animals!
