Photo: Alain Houle

News from Kanyawara

Alpha Male Survives Life-Threatening Poaching Injury

On April 5th a group of Kanyawara chimpanzees travelled deep into the southern part of their range, past the National Park boundary, and into a field near the village of Rurama, where they fed on maize. Three armed poachers and a pack of their hunting dogs pursued the chimpanzees into the forest, spearing the alpha male, Imoso, in his left arm. Doctoral student Paco Bertolani and field assistants from the Kibale Chimpanzee Project arrived in time to drive off the poachers and save Imoso from further injury. However, he was severely wounded, with the bone in his arm visible to observers (Photos: P. Bertolani). Thanks to quick action by KCP staff, the Uganda Wildlife Authority, and a team of veterinarians from the Jane Goodall Institute, Imoso was successfully darted on April 7th, and his wound was cleaned and stitched. He has now almost healed, and is again able to use his left arm. This has been an unsettling reminder of how vulnerable chimpanzees are - even in a national park - and underscores the importance of research in protecting wild chimpanzees.

Highlighted Recent KCP Publications

Sexual Coercion in Primates and Humans: An Evolutionary Perspective on Male Aggression Against Females (Harvard University Press). Edited by Martin N. Muller & Richard Wrangham (2009).
Conflict between males and females over reproduction is ubiquitous in nature due to fundamental differences between the sexes in reproductive rates and investment in offspring. In only a few species, however, do males strategically employ violence to control female sexuality. Why are so many of these primates? Why are females routinely abused in some species, but never in others? And can the study of such unpleasant behavior by our closest relatives help us to understand the evolution of men’s violence against women? In the first systematic attempt to assess and understand primate male aggression as an expression of sexual conflict, the contributors to this volume consider coercion in direct and indirect forms: direct, in overcoming female resistance to mating; indirect, in decreasing the chance the female will mate with other males. The book presents extensive field research and analysis to evaluate the form of sexual coercion in a range of species—including all of the great apes and humans—and to clarify its role in shaping social relationships among males, among females, and between the sexes.

Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human (Basic Books). By Richard Wrangham (2009).
Ever since Darwin and The Descent of Man, the existence of humans has been attributed to our intelligence and adaptability. But in Catching Fire, renowned primatologist Richard Wrangham presents a startling alternative: our evolutionary success is the result of cooking. In a groundbreaking theory of our origins, Wrangham shows that the shift from raw to cooked foods was the key factor in human evolution. Once our hominid ancestors began cooking their food, the human digestive tract shrank and the brain grew. Time once spent chewing tough raw food could be used instead to hunt and to tend camp. Cooking became the basis for pair bonding and marriage, created the household, and even led to a sexual division of labor. A pathbreaking new theory of human evolution, Catching Fire will provoke controversy and fascinate anyone interested in our ancient origins - or in our modern eating habits.

• NY Times Review of "Catching Fire"
• Dr. Wrangham on NPR's "All Things Considered"
• Dr. Wrangham in "The Economist"