Honey-hunting with honeyguides in northern Ghana: cultural continuity amid change

Human cultural learning influences whether and how we interact with one another and with other species. For example, people in parts of Africa cooperate with greater honeyguides (Indicator indicator), birds that guide followers to wild bees' nests in exchange for beeswax. Honey-hunting practices vary culturally, and honeyguides behaviourally adapt to this variation. This cooperative relationship is in widespread decline, yet its remaining extent remains largely undocumented. We studied honey-hunting in northern Ghana, a region experiencing rapid socio-economic growth. We interviewed 36 honey-hunters and 100 people from other livelihoods to capture a range of human-honeyguide relationships. We found that 36% of honey-hunters used honeyguides, which is a lower rate than in eastern Africa. The practice was typically reported to be learnt through vertical transmission. Honey-hunters harvested honey more often from known nests than by searching for new ones. Honey-hunters did not use signals to recruit honeyguides, but some whistled to maintain their attention. Honey-hunters left wax after harvests, benefitting honeyguides. The human-honeyguide relationship ranged from mutualism to commensalism, neutralism and even conflict, as some game hunters found them disruptive. Many honey-hunters attributed recent changes in the practice to bees' nests becoming scarcer. Motorized transport use had no observable impact on the reliance on honeyguides. This study suggests that honey-hunting with honeyguides continues at a low rate among honey-hunters in northern Ghana, despite socio-economic growth. This article is part of the theme issue 'Transforming cultural evolution research and its application to global futures'.