Most chimps can only bear to feed briefly in this way before retiring to pick enraged ants out of their hair. Leaf sponges Chimpanzees are fastidiously clean and use bunches of leaves to wipe any king of sticky mess from their bodies. They may even wipe themselves in this way after touching a stranger or a person. Top Chimpanzees as Hunters Chimpanzees are keen and effective hunters and can catch and eat a variety of prey, ranging from mice to young bushpigs weighing 20 kgs. Also taken were baboons, redtail and blue monkeys, rodents, birds, and infant chimps.
Solitary chimps can and do hunt successfully, but often the hunt is a cooperative effort.
When hunting colobus, it helps to have several chimps who can block escape routes, in the forest canopy, and more on the ground who can catch any monkey that accidentally falls. Bushpig hunts are often very fast and opportunistic- chimps meet a bushpig family, search for small piglets, grab some, and climb the nearest tree. Bushbuck fawns when small are often left by the mother, alone in cover, so they are easy prey both for chimps and for baboons. Often baboons initially catch the fawn and chimps steal it after being attracted by the baboon's excitement. This may be due to the chimps superior intelligence-perhaps they only start a hunt when there seems a fair chance of success.