New record of predatory behavior by the mandrill in Cameroon

Abstract

The predatory behavior of the mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx,Linnaeus 1758), a forestliving baboon, on the bay duiker (Cephalophus dorsalis,Gray 1864) was observed under natural conditions. In the predatory episode, at least two mandrills (one adult female and one adult male) attacked a bay duiker, but no overt aggressive interactions between the attackers occurred during consumption. The estimated predation pattern based on scars—intensive attacking of the head and pulling of the hind legs to eat the thigh muscles first—resembled the predation patterns of captive mandrills observed experimentally. The findings suggest that the predatory behavior is established in mandrills as a feeding behavior pattern as in savanna-living baboons. New data are thus presented which are relevant to the discussion of the origins of hunting behavior in early hominids.