Thieving chimps alter farming practices

Trinity College students have discovered thieving chimpanzees are changing the way farmers make a living in Africa by causing them to grow different crops and spend more time guarding their goods.

Crop raiding by light- fingered and industrious chimps, means hundreds of thousands of marginalised farmers are losing edible crops to damage each year. As a result, farmers are reducing their cultivation of maize, beans, and other staples — which are highly prized by raiding species.

In addition, by guarding their crops during the night, farmers are increasingly exposed to malaria carried by mosquitoes and soil-based worms which cause elephantiasis.