chimps hunt.... sometimes even with spears.
http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~stanford/chimphunt.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN2244829320070222
Yup.
Almost all the great apes hunt, and have animal protein sources in their diet.
I seem to remember seeing a show on PBS where they actually observed mountain gorillas hunting and killing.
You are all wrong! The exception does not prove the rule! On the whole, almost all primates are mostly herbivorous! And anatomically and physiologically humans are much more similar to primates than cats! To argue otherwise is ignoring basic zoology.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against meat consumption. But to argue we are primarily carnivorous is suspect.
From the University of Notre Dame:
http://ocw.nd.edu/anthropology/primate-behavior/session-5-behavioral-ecology-2
Session 4: Behavioral Ecology: Feeding
Other animal matter:
Very few primates consume mammals or other vertebrates, but some consume them opportunistically. Macaques are willing to eat anything. Animal matter is largely unreliable as a food source. It is has a variable distribution, has variable capture costs, and variable nutrient return.
Leafy material: Leafy material is the most common dietary element of primates.
• Very abundant and evenly distributed.
• Low competition.
• Extremely variable quality of nutritional value; young leaves are the most nutritive.
• Mechanical digestion is low quality; over time, degradation occurs but this is not a good method for acquisition of nutrients.
• A measure of nutrient accessibility is ADF, or the acid digestion fiber, with high ADF values representing high nutrient food with easy access.
• Seasonality is a cost of leaf consumption, specifically regarding the leaf flush.
• Secondary compounds (tannins, alkaloids, etc.) contained in leaves can be toxic to primates.
Fruits: Primates love fruits because fruits are laden with sugar.
• Patchily spaced so can be variable in space and time.
• High nutritive return due to the simplicity in digesting.
• Easy processing, if ripe, with little need for even chewing.
• High competition. Nothing has more competition than fruits.
• Seasonal availability.
Insects:
• Consumption is second only to fruits for primates.
• Has extremely variable distribution because they can be tricky to catch and eat.
• High nutritive return but due to capture costs, very few primates.
• Capture costs can be extremely high.
• Variable processing costs.
Seeds & nuts:
• Have a variable distribution.
• Have a very high nutritive return with very high processing costs due to the challenge in access and their high amount of secondary compounds.
• Only some primates consume nuts and seeds, but those that do typically have unusual adaptations for accessing.
Exudates (Tree Saps):
Tree saps have a fairly evenly distribution and have a high nutritive return. However, the high extraction costs limit access to the non-human primates with specific dental modifications. Thus, there are really a few competitors for exudates.