Female Apes’ Hunting Upends the ‘Man the Hunter’ Theory

WHO:

The New York Times - Bonobos are closely related to humans and have two closest relatives: chimpanzees and humans.

The New York Times - Female bonobos were identified as the primary hunters in their troops.

The New York Times - Jake Brooker, a primatologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, was not involved in the research.

WHAT:

The New York Times - Research published in *Current Biology* reported that female bonobos are hunters, challenging their reputation as largely vegetarian and nonaggressive.

The New York Times - The findings could change understandings of how early humans lived, worked and ate.

The New York Times - The prevailing model of early human societies casts men as hunters of large game, such as bison and antelope, and women as gatherers of berries and nuts.

The New York Times - Brooker said the findings “really does challenge this idea of the male warrior — that the male hunter is the ancestral model that we should be leaning on.”

Drudge Report - The headline describes female apes as challenging the “Man the Hunter” origin story.

WHERE:

The New York Times - Brooker works at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

WHY:

The New York Times - The research challenges the male-hunter model because female bonobos were found to be the primary hunters in their troops.

HOW:

The New York Times - The research’s implications arise from evidence about hunting roles among bonobo troops; the article does not specify the study’s methods.

(UPDATED November 13, 2026 10:01 UTC)

Female bonobos are the primary hunters in their troops, challenging assumptions about their behavior. The findings question the traditional model of men hunting while women gathered food. Researchers say bonobo hunting could reshape ideas about how early human societies lived and ate.