# 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:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**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, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/21 "2009-02-26T22:37:19Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > 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. So… you _want_ to see a person getting eaten by a bear? Did you also watch that Ukranian serial killer video where the killers beat the guy’s face off with a hammer and stick a screwdriver into his brain through his eye socket? ---
**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, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/22 "2009-02-26T22:39:09Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > So… you _want_ to see a person getting eaten by a bear? Did you also watch that Ukranian serial killer video where the killers beat the guy’s face off with a hammer and stick a screwdriver into his brain through his eye socket? Well, since you asked, sure (I would if I knew where to find it). And I don’t think I’d be the only one – maybe just the only one who’d admit it. I think violence and pornography are just innate draws for some folks. But I think the hijack has gone on long enough, so I’ll say no more. ---
**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, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/23 "2009-02-26T22:40:13Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Um, okay. Do you also hope that Bill Gates will get crushed by a gigantic computer? Does it have legs and big claw-like grabbers? ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/24 "2009-02-26T23:28:30Z")
I have an old online buddy who’s a primatologist at the University of Minnesota. She’s worked for several years in Kibale National Park, and she says that chimps can and have snatched human babies and tried to eat them. Strangely enough, on the very rare occasions where it has happened, the chimp just takes a couple of bites and then drops the corpse and leaves it. She says our fat content is too high, and that makes us unpalatable to them. ETA: Disclaimer—I’m just a partially deaf person with a working knowledge of ASL and a fondness for all things primate. I have no real expert or firsthand insight into the inner workings of the minds of our next of kin. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/25 "2009-02-26T23:37:34Z")
Bear in mind that humans eat chimps – look up “[bush meat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_meat).” In the context that [we ARE a subspecies of chimp](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_Chimpanzee)…not metaphorically, but cladistically, one chimp species has been eating the other pretty much routinely. The novelty is that the tables are on some occasions turned. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555/26 "2009-02-27T01:19:42Z")
The OP was succinctly answered. Closed. **samclem** Moderator, General Questions [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chimpanzees-eating-humans-isnt-that-outside-their-diet/487555.md?page=1)