# Why are Chimpanzees eating humans -- isn't that outside their diet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555 "2009-02-26T20:03:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/1 "2009-02-26T20:03:59Z")
Lately another Chimpanzee attack, this time a former ‘pet’ that attacked someone and began eating her alive, starting with her face, eyes, and nose, jaw. But I thought Primates besides humans are herbivores, except for grubs and such. Why eat another primate? I can see killing, but what’s with the near-cannibalism? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/2 "2009-02-26T20:05:37Z")
No, they’re omnivorous and they hunt together in groups called troops in the wild. ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/3 "2009-02-26T20:07:16Z")
I’ve seen shows where groups of Chimpanzees or other primates/monkeys went hunting. They usually hunted members of a rival group, but they can be cannibalistic… ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/4 "2009-02-26T20:14:04Z")
> [@sassyfras](#): > > Lately another Chimpanzee attack, this time a former ‘pet’ that attacked someone and began eating her alive, starting with her face, eyes, and nose, jaw. Whoa. Got a link? I gotta see this. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/5 "2009-02-26T20:15:16Z")
I didn’t realize it was eating her, I thought it was just fighting her. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/6 "2009-02-26T20:34:35Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > I didn’t realize it was eating her, I thought it was just fighting her. Yeah, I heard it clawed at and bit her face in an attacking manner. Not really trying to take a bite and swallow it cause he was hungry. ---
**Author:** ![puppygod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@puppygod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puppygod)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/7 "2009-02-26T20:52:31Z")
> [@sassyfras](#): > > Lately another Chimpanzee attack, this time a former ‘pet’ that attacked someone and began eating her alive, starting with her face, eyes, and nose, jaw. > > But I thought Primates besides humans are herbivores, except for grubs and such. Why eat another primate? I can see killing, but what’s with the near-cannibalism? Killing and feeding are different instincts. While chimpanzee attack might involve chewing off parts of enemy body (most notably face, hands/fingers and genitals) it’s not about diet. It was clearly aggressive attack. Now, if diet is involved, chimpanzees - as other posters noted - are omnivorous. They hunt for live prey, including other primates. They occasionally kill other chimpanzees, and instances of cannibalism were observed and documented. Some claims were made about chimpanzees snatching and eating human babies in Africa, but no documented case (as far as I know) was ever described. Though hunting and killing adult human would be very unusual behavior for chimpanzee, snatching infants is much more feasible, taking into consideration what we know about them. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/8 "2009-02-26T20:57:35Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Whoa. Got a link? I gotta see this. Wait for the ‘made-for-tv’ movie, **Travis Goes Ape!** I think it’s already in production by a Fox subsidiary. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/9 "2009-02-26T20:59:01Z")
I read somewhere that the owner’s injuries were so horrific and life altering that even some experienced trauma doctors had difficulty seeing her. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/10 "2009-02-26T21:03:16Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > I read somewhere that the owner’s injuries were so horrific and life altering that even some experienced trauma doctors had difficulty seeing her. Why, they weren’t all popping in to have a look at her, were they? That’s a bit insensitive! ---
**Author:** ![puppygod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@puppygod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puppygod)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/11 "2009-02-26T21:06:12Z")
Ok. I googled about those reports, and seems like baby-snatching in Uganda is quite well documented. Apparently chimps indeed hunted and killed at least 8 human babies. [Link](http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article840838.ece). ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/12 "2009-02-26T21:06:24Z")
Well, if you’re a Face Putter Back On-er specialist are you not going to go look at the lady with her face off? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/13 "2009-02-26T21:39:28Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Wait for the ‘made-for-tv’ movie, **Travis Goes Ape!** I think it’s already in production by a Fox subsidiary. Ooooh. Can’t wait! Someday Jane Goodall will be the new Timothy Treadwell. I met her once as a kid and she seemed much more interested in chimps than humans… to the point of disdaining us, almost. It’d be a fitting end for her – certainly better than what Irwin got. I _really_ want to see the footage now. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/14 "2009-02-26T21:55:42Z")
Jane Goodall should be eaten alive by chimps because she prefers to study chimps than to be around humans? What the hell? ---
**Author:** ![puppygod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@puppygod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puppygod)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/15 "2009-02-26T21:58:43Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Ooooh. Can’t wait! Someday Jane Goodall will be the new Timothy Treadwell. I met her once as a kid and she seemed much more interested in chimps than humans… to the point of disdaining us, almost. It’d be a fitting end for her – certainly better than what Irwin got. > > I _really_ want to see the footage now. I don’t see much analogy. Unlike Treadwell Goodall is professional and she knows what she’s doing. She pretty much get “adopted” into chimp troop by assuming omega position - basically she let all the other chimps beat her or chase her away - and over time they learned she is not here for their mates or food. So they let her stay. She’s smart enough to not pick fights with chimps and to stay away from chimps from other troops. And she knows what chimps can do to each other. Now Treadwell was just idiot, who knew shit about bears and though that spiritual mumbo-jumbo and communion with nature make him equal to them. But you don’t get out of food chain by believing. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/16 "2009-02-26T22:14:50Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Jane Goodall should be eaten alive by chimps because she prefers to study chimps than to be around humans? What the hell? No, no. Sorry for being unclear. I meant that death by chimp would be a poetic end for her. She gets to die by/with the very things she loves. Regarding Treadwell, as **puppygod** pointed out, it may be an unfair comparison. Personally, I just want to see the video. I was bummed that they censored both the Treadwell and Irwin ones. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/17 "2009-02-26T22:16:58Z")
Maybe the chimp ate your baybee. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/18 "2009-02-26T22:24:05Z")
Um, okay. Do you also hope that Bill Gates will get crushed by a gigantic computer? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/19 "2009-02-26T22:33:25Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Um, okay. Do you also hope that Bill Gates will get crushed by a gigantic computer? That’d be awesome! That, or he’s standing in a blissfully green field set against a blue sky as a computer glitch causes a cargo plane overhead to explode, scattering its hold of glittering white MICROSOFT letters meant for their new building and fatally crushing him in the process. And then he gets pied. Again. By the same person who later became a cargo pilot. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/20 "2009-02-26T22:36:52Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Well, if you’re a Face Putter Back On-er specialist are you not going to go look at the lady with her face off? Good point. If someone who removes and replaces faces for a living has their stomach turned, things must be bad. :eek: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555.md?page=2)