DIET OF SAVANNA CHIMPANZEES IN THE UGALLA AREA, TANZANIA

Abstract

We studied the diet of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the Ugalla savanna woodland area of western Tanzania. This area is the most eastern habitat and one of the driest and most open habitats of chimpanzees. Field surveys were conducted mainly at the Nguye and Bhukalai sites in Ugalla from 1995 to 2011, during which we collected 465 feces of chimpanzees. From the discernable components of the Ugalla chimpanzees' diet in the fecal samples we collected and recorded, we compared the diet of these chimpanzees with that of chimpanzees in wet habitats, especially Mahale and Gombe in Tanzania, in the literature. Chimpanzees in Ugalla had eaten 117 plant parts of 100 plant species, 1 bird species, at least 1 small mammal species, and at least 3 insect species, including termites and ants. These chimpanzees in Ugalla ate fewer plant species and plant parts, more underground storage organs of plants, and fewer vertebrates and invertebrates than did the chimpanzees in Mahale and Gombe.