Savanna Chimpanzees at Fongoli, Senegal, Navigate a Fire Landscape

@article{Pruetz2017SavannaCA,
  title={Savanna Chimpanzees at Fongoli, Senegal, Navigate a Fire Landscape},
  author={Jill D. Pruetz and Nicole M. Herzog},
  journal={Current Anthropology},
  year={2017},
  volume={58},
  pages={S337 - S350}
}
  • J. PruetzN. Herzog
  • Published 2 June 2017
  • Environmental Science, Biology
  • Current Anthropology
Savanna chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) at Fongoli, Senegal, appear to be able to predict the “behavior” of wildfires of various intensities. Although most wildfires are avoided, even the most intense fires are met with relative calm and seemingly calculated movement by apes in this arid, hot, and open environment. In addition to reviewing instances of such behavior collected during the course of the Fongoli study, we also report chimpanzees’ use of burned landscapes during the dry season… 
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35 Citations
Background Citations
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35 Citations

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in savanna landscapes

The significance of research on savanna chimpanzees to modeling the evolution of early hominin traits and informing conservation programs for these endangered apes is discussed, as well as pathways for future research to understand its evolutionary processes and mechanisms.

Investigating foundations for hominin fire exploitation: Savanna-dwelling chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in fire-altered landscapes.

Influence of human disturbance on Western Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) nesting behavior in a savanna mosaic habitat, southeastern Senegal

The Bantan chimpanzees show a preference for nesting in the genus Pterocarpus, despite the fact that the genus Combretum is the most available, and distribution maps show a general westward movement in nesting locations over the years.

Landscapes of the apes: modelling landscape use of chimpanzees and early hominins across an environmental gradient.

As primate habitat is declining rapidly, studying the flexibility of primates to adapt to changing landscapes is important. Landscape-scale studies of primate habitat use are, however, scant.…

Evidence of Burning from Bushfires in Southern and East Africa and Its Relevance to Hominin Evolution

Early human fire use is of great scientific interest, but little comparative work has been undertaken across the ecological settings in which natural fire occurs or on the taphonomy of fire and…

Landscaping the behavioural ecology of primate stone tool use

The findings indicate that the technological landscape of the Bossou chimpanzees shares affinities with the ‘favoured places’ model of hominin site formation and provides new insights for reconstructing ancient patterns of landscape use.

Hominin fire use in the Okote member at Koobi Fora, Kenya: New evidence for the old debate.

Fire in the round: A holistic approach to the Lower Palaeolithic record

Fire's impact on threat detection and risk perception among vervet monkeys: Implications for hominin evolution.

The possible role of predator–prey dynamics as an influence on early hominin use of burned landscapes

  • S. Hoare
  • Environmental Science
    Evolutionary anthropology
  • 2019
Two possible evolutionary scenarios in which hominins could either have selected or avoided burned areas (3–2 mya), based on whether ambush or coursing predators were perceived as presenting the greatest risk are suggested.

References

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