Scientists Think Behaviorial Changes In Chimpanzees Could Hold Clues About Future Pandemics

Tucked within a region carpeted by semi-deciduous trees in Western Uganda’s Budongo Forest, chimpanzees are displaying mysterious behaviors. Eating bat poop, to be precise. On June 25, 2017, scientists observing through cameras noticed chimpanzees hanging around a large, hollow tree where a colony of Noack’s roundleaf bats was roosting. The chimpanzees reached out into piles under trees and consumed bat guano with their hands, then sipped water collected in folded leaf sponges. Some of them licked the guano directly with their tongues. The sad reason behind this “never-before-documented behavior” was the dwindling supply of “mineral buffet” from the forest, according to a study published in Communications Biology.

The backstory of this oddball behavior among chimps dates between 2006 and 2012. During this time, the forest residents like chimpanzees, black-and-white colobus, and red duiker satiated their hunger by feeding on palm Raphia farinifera, a lowland, riparian, swamp-based tree whose pith is known to contain copious amounts of sodium mineral. At one point, the rising international demand for tobacco propelled Uganda’s farmers to log off these palm trees. They would cut down the trees to craft strings to dry tobacco leaves.

After getting the primary source of their mineral supply robbed off abruptly, the wild animals started looking for alternatives. To fulfil the scarcity of minerals left by the cutting of palm trees, they gravitated towards unusual items like termite mounds, wet clay, decaying pith of trees, rotting wood, fruits, and leaves. Some of them were even found to be chewing cement off the brick buildings for sodium. Since then, the behavior has persisted. 

The behaviors were completely harmless, except that they could increase the risk of “zoonoses,” diseases transmitted from animals to humans. Before this research, the mechanism behind zoonoses was poorly understood. But afterwards, researchers were compelled to believe that every virus spillover, at one point, initiates in the wildlife community, particularly through behaviors like these. In this case, while the bat guano provided chimps with a bounty of useful minerals, they also increased the risk of transmitting the virus contained in the microbes.

In conversation with Mongabay, lead study scientist Tony Goldberg shared how several virus outbreaks have been linked to wildlife-human interactions. Ebola virus, for instance, was likely transmitted to humans through contact with carcasses of ungulates. Conservation ecologist Arend de Haas told the outlet that “human-induced activities” are often the primary drivers of these virus transmissions. The original objective of this study was to study the deforestation of palm and how it affected the behavior of the wildlife population. Researchers set up trail cameras, called “Trophy Cams,” by mounting them on the forest trees. 

Nutritional analysis of bat guano revealed high concentrations of minerals like magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and sodium. After the palm trees were chopped off in Uganda’s forest, most of these crucial minerals were stolen away from the animals, and they had no choice but to consume bat poop laden with viruses as an “ecological mechanism” to make up for the mineral scarcity. However, apart from these health-giving minerals, the bat guano also carried a family of viruses. Analysis revealed 27 viruses recognized from 12 families, including a cousin of coronavirus detected in guano collected as fertilizer from Thailand.

The study, overall, throws light on how even the minutest of landscape changes by humans can significantly affect the choices, behaviors, and overall life trajectory of its animals. It's very much like visiting a supermarket and discovering that your protein powder is out of stock, then grabbing alternate foods like cheese, yogurt, or seeds to make up that protein supply. And for animals, shifting homes is not as easy as visiting a second supermarket.

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