West Side Story: Regional inter-troop variation in baboon bark-stripping at Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

Biro, Dora, Muschinski, Jana, Hammond, Philippa, Bobe, René, Bamford, Marion K., Capelli, Cristian, d'Oliveira Coelho, João, Farassi, Rassina, Lüdecke, Tina, Martinez, Felipe I., Mathe, Jacinto, Ferreira Da Silva, Maria Joana and Carvalho, Susana 2025. West Side Story: Regional inter-troop variation in baboon bark-stripping at Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. American Journal of Biological Anthropology 187 (1) , e70057. 10.1002/ajpa.70057 Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Objectives Baboons possess sophisticated physical and social cognitive abilities; hence, the lack of evidence to date of large-scale behavioral variation in these primates is puzzling. Here we studied a candidate for such variation—the stripping of bark from Acacia robusta trees for consumption of the sap and soft tissue underneath—in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. Materials and Methods We surveyed an area inhabited by ~60 troops of chacma baboons, recording the availability and characteristics of the target trees, as well as the presence or absence of bark-stripping at 45 habitat plots distributed across a grid covering an area of ~300 km2. Results Camera traps confirmed the presence of baboons at all habitat plots, and we identified regional clumping in the distribution of the behavior, a pattern consistent across two consecutive years. Proportion and mean height/width of A. robusta did not predict whether bark-stripping behavior was present at a given site, nor did broader ecological variables such as habitat type and distance to the nearest water source. However, stripping sites had significantly higher numbers of A. robusta than non-stripping sites, and within a given bark-stripping site, baboons preferred to strip taller and wider trees among those available. Discussion The prominent geographical clustering we uncovered may have been driven by opportunity (i.e., the prevalence of A. robusta at a given site), but is also consistent with a possible (non-mutually exclusive) cultural interpretation. We propose avenues for future research on Gorongosa's baboons to better quantify the relative contributions of ecology, genetics, and social learning to the prevalence of bark stripping. We also briefly consider the potential relevance of baboon bark stripping to elucidating early hominin foraging strategies.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Biosciences
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	2692-7691
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	4 June 2025
Date of Acceptance:	14 April 2025
Last Modified:	05 Jun 2025 09:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/178779

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