First report of geophagy by chimpanzees in Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast

Researchers document the first confirmed instance of geophagy—soil consumption—in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) within Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast. Using camera-trap footage, they observed that chimpanzees of all ages and both sexes ingested soil, often facilitated by leaf-sponge tools, suggesting a potential reliance on mineral supplements like sodium or clay, particularly during the dry season. This behavior was consistently noted in one community over multiple years and sporadically in another, highlighting a possible ecological need for critically endangered West African chimpanzees inhabiting savanna-forest mosaics.

Lapuente, J., & Linsenmair, K. E. (2023). First report of geophagy by chimpanzees in Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.07.25.550531