"P. boisei" was originally believed to have been a specialist of hard foods, such as nuts, due to its heavily built skull, but it was more likely a generalist feeder of predominantly abrasive C4 plants, such as grasses or underground storage organs. Like gorillas, the apparently specialised adaptations of the skull may have only been used with less desirable fallback foods, allowing "P. boisei" to inhabit a wider range of habitats than gracile australopithecines. "P. boisei" may have been able to make Oldowan stone tools and butcher carcasses. "P. boisei" mainly inhabited wet, wooded environments, and coexisted with "H. habilis", "H. rudolfensis", "H. ergaster", and "H. erectus". These were likely preyed upon by the large carnivores of the time, including big cats, crocodiles, and hyenas.