<Note>Male chimpanzee age affects red colobus monkey hunting success

Abstract

We used data collected from 1976 to 2010 in Mahale, Tanzania, to explore longitudinal changes in red colobus hunting throughout the life histories of individual male chimpanzees. The relative frequency (z-scores) of successful red colobus hunts by male chimpanzees exhibited an inverted U-shaped distribution with age. Hunting success increases when males are between 8–20 years old. Males in adulthood (20–35 years of age) made the highest number of kills. After 39 years of age, male chimpanzees were not observed to kill red colobus monkeys. These results were discussed in terms of their implications for understanding changes in the social status of male chimpanzees over time.