Reynolds Vernon, Lloyd Andrew W, Babweteera Fred, English Christopher J
Emeritus Professor, School of Anthropology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
PLoS One. 2009 Jul 10;4(7):e6194. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006194.
For some years, chimpanzees have been observed eating the pith of decaying palm trees of Raphia farinifera in the Budongo Forest, Uganda. The reasons for doing this have until now been unknown. An analysis of the pith for mineral content showed high levels of sodium to be present in the samples. By contrast, lower levels were found in bark of other tree species, and also in leaf and fruit samples eaten by chimpanzees. The differences between the Raphia samples and the non-Raphia samples were highly significant (p<0.001). It is concluded that Raphia provides a rich and possibly essential source of sodium for the Budongo chimpanzees. Comparison of a chewed sample (wadge) of Raphia pith with a sample from the tree showed a clear reduction in sodium content in the chewed sample. Black and white colobus monkeys in Budongo Forest also feed on the pith of Raphia. At present, the survival of Raphia palms in Budongo Forest is threatened by the use of this tree by local tobacco farmers.
多年来，人们观察到黑猩猩在乌干达布东戈森林中食用腐烂的扇叶树头榈的髓心。到目前为止，它们这样做的原因尚不清楚。对髓心矿物质含量的分析表明，样本中钠含量很高。相比之下，在其他树种的树皮以及黑猩猩食用的树叶和果实样本中发现的钠含量较低。扇叶树头榈样本与非扇叶树头榈样本之间的差异非常显著（p<0.001）。得出的结论是，扇叶树头榈为布东戈黑猩猩提供了丰富且可能必不可少的钠来源。将咀嚼过的扇叶树头榈髓心样本（一团）与取自树上的样本进行比较，发现咀嚼过的样本中钠含量明显降低。布东戈森林中的黑白疣猴也以扇叶树头榈的髓心为食。目前，布东戈森林中扇叶树头榈的生存受到当地烟农使用这种树的威胁。
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