Scott Creel

Christophe Boesch

Tetsuro Matsuzawa

Toshisada Nishida

Charles L. Nunn

Richard Connor

W.C. McGrew

Jack W. Bradbury

Christine Drea

Anne Engh

Laurence Frank

Karen I. Hallberg

Stephanie Jaffee

Sarah L. Mesnick

Hans Kummer

Intelligence, Culture, and Individualized Societies

Animal Social Complexity

Professor Christophe Boesch

Hedwige Boesch-Achermann

Behavioural Ecology and Evolution

The Chimpanzees of the Taï Forest

Martha M. Robbins

Gottfried Hohmann

First published in 2006, this book presents an evolutionary perspective on feeding behaviour in human and non-human primates.

Feeding Ecology in Apes and Other Primates

A journey into the lives of chimpanzees, revealing the many parallels and differences between us.

A Comparison Between Chimpanzee and Human Cultures

Wild Cultures

Crickette M. Sanz

Josep Call

Presentation of groundbreaking research on an extensive range of tool using animals, looking particularly at the evolution of cognitive abilities.

Cognition and Ecology

Tool Use in Animals

These compelling stories and photographs take us to places like Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, Ivindo National Park in Gabon, and the Taï National Park in Côte d’Ivoire for an intimate and revealing look at the lives of African wild apes—and at the lives of the humans who study them. In tales of adventure, research, and conservation, veteran field researchers and conservationists describe exciting discoveries made over the past few decades about chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas. The book features vivid descriptions of interactions among these highly intelligent creatures as they hunt, socialize, and play. More difficult themes emerge as well, including the threats apes face from poaching, disease, and deforestation. In stories that are often moving and highly personal, this book takes measure of how special the great apes are and discusses positive conservation efforts, including ecotourism, that can help bring these magnificent animals back from the brink of extinction.

Stories and Photos from the Field

Among African Apes

How do chimpanzees say, 'I want to have sex with you?' By clipping a leaf or knocking on a tree trunk? How do they eat live aggressive ants? By using a short stick with one hand or long stick with both? Ivorian and Tanzanian chimpanzees answer these questions differently, as would humans from France and China if asked how they eat rice. Christophe Boesch takes readers into the lives of chimpanzees from different African regions, highlighting the debate about culture. His ethnography reveals how simple techniques have evolved into complex ones, how teaching styles differ, how material culture widens access to new food sources and how youngsters learn culture. This journey reveals many parallels between humans and chimpanzees and points to striking differences. Written in a vivid and accessible style, Wild Cultures places the reader in social and ecological contexts that shed light on our twin cultures.

A Comparison between Chimpanzee and Human Cultures

Linda Marchant

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus), otherwise known as pygmy chimpanzees, are the only two species of the genus Pan. As they are our nearest relatives, there has been much research devoted to investigating the similarities and differences between them. This book offers an extensive review of the most recent observations to come from field studies on the diversity of Pan social behaviour, with contributions from many of the world's leading experts in this field. A wide range of social behaviours is discussed including tool use, hunting, reproductive strategies and conflict management as well as demographic variables and ecological constraints. In addition to interspecies behavioural diversity, this text describes exciting new research into variations between different populations of the same species. Researchers and students working in the fields of primatology, anthropology and zoology will find this a fascinating read.

Behavioural Diversity in Chimpanzees and Bonobos

Chimpanzee Behavior encapsulates the fascinating behaviour of wild chimps and discusses the differences observed in different populations across the species, and across the many levels of their social behaviour. It tells the story of why sex competition in a forest chimpanzee population made the females of the group highly social and gave the males a high level of within-group solidarity, making them very xenophobic towards outsiders. Christophe Boesch brings back to the table the debate over ecological pressures and social organization, and the influence they have over issues such as the evolution of warfare, co-operation, altruism and the position of females. Writing for undergraduate and graduate students, he presents insightful views to give readers the background information to understand the struggle for survival of our closest living relative, the chimpanzee, and through this find some keys to the ever-so-intriguing question of what makes us human.

Sex Strategies in the Forest

The Real Chimpanzee

The last decade has witnessed remarkable discoveries and advances in our understanding of the tool using behaviour of animals. Wild populations of capuchin monkeys have been observed to crack open nuts with stone tools, similar to the skills of chimpanzees and humans. Corvids have been observed to use and make tools that rival in complexity the behaviours exhibited by the great apes. Excavations of the nut cracking sites of chimpanzees have been dated to around 4-5 thousand years ago. Tool Use in Animals collates these and many more contributions by leading scholars in psychology, biology and anthropology, along with supplementary online materials, into a comprehensive assessment of the cognitive abilities and environmental forces shaping these behaviours in taxa as distantly related as primates and corvids.

Ulrich H. Reichard

This book explores the biological roots of social, sexual and reproductive monogamy in birds, mammals and humans.

Mating Strategies and Partnerships in Birds, Humans and Other Mammals

Monogamy

Tobias Deschner

Roman Wittig

An engaging account of the research and key findings on Taï chimpanzees to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this project.

40 Years of Research

Christophe Boesch

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