First evidence of prey capture and meat eating by wild Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys Rhinopithecus bieti in Yunnan,China

Most extant nonhuman primates occasionally prey on fast-moving, warm-blooded animals; however, Indriidae, Lepilemuridae,and Colobinae either scavenged for meat or did not eat meat at all. Here we report six cases of animal consumptionby the snub-nosed monkey Rhinopithecus bieti in a wild, habituated group between 2004 and 2009 in Yunnan, China. At present,only males in an all-male unit within the study group were involved in active hunting. Such a male-biased activity may be relatedto the group structure and spatial spread of R. bieti. Two females were observed eating freshly killed birds. The findings confirmedthat R. bieti engaged in scavenging and, when hunting, employed a cranio-cervical bite to kill their prey. Meat eating islikely a nutrient maximization feeding strategy in R. bieti, especially in males. A begging behavior occurred after successful preycapture. Although begging was observed, no sharing of the meat was seen. The present findings illuminate the dietary diversity ofR. bieti and their ability to expand their dietary spectrum