Did you ever watch The Waltons? This was the show about the family living in the Blue Ridge Mountains during the Great Depression. At the end of each show, the family members would say goodnight to each other from different parts of the house. “Goodnight John Boy!” “Goodnight Grandpa!” “Goodnight Mary Ellen!” If you remember this, now you have a good idea what its like in the chimp house at the end of the day (and you know how exciting my Friday nights were as a kid).
After dinner is over, the chimps all head their separate ways to build nests throughout the building. Some sleep in the catwalks, some sleep in the loft, some stay in the front rooms where they had dinner. But when the lights are turned off, they begin to vocalize to each other. This is called a “nest grunt” (or so I’ve read – I don’t remember learning the name for this in school so I googled it!). Some are more breathy, some are more like hoots, but all are fairly quiet (its bedtime, after all). What’s really neat is that we humans can start things off – if I don’t hear the chimps say goodnight, I will let out a little “hoohuhhoohuh” and all of the chimps will respond.
Amy M. says
JB — This is SO sweet!!
By the way — how many hours a day do chimps sleep? Do they sleep/nap much during the day?
Shelly C/Hidden Valley Lake, CA says
That is AWESOME JB~I love that story and would love to hear it sometime! Thanks!
Cindy says
Maybe free living chimps want to let others in their community know where they are located as they bed down or might they just be saying good night? I can hear the African forest grunting the day away, it must be a wonderful listen to as night falls!!
Shelly Knapp says
That is awesome, JB, thanks so much for sharing it. I would love to hear it on video! It would be even more fun if you started it off. I’m trying to think of what “hoohuhhoohuh” sounds like…….
I laughed out loud when I read “(and now you know how exciting my Friday nights were as a kid).” Whatever your Friday nights were like as a kid (and I suspect some were alot more entertaining than The Waltons), I think you turned out smashing! Not only that, just look at how exciting every day is for you now!
Shelly C/Hidden Valley Lake, CA says
SARAH….I am so sorry…getting back to work and all I forget to wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY…it was on the 22nd…right! HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY SARAH! Hope it was wonderful!
Shelly C/Hidden Valley Lake, CA says
No her birthday was on January 20th…I am so sorry I forgot!
Margaret and Karen says
I (Margaret) was the lucky volunteer today and had the pure pleasure of preparing dinner for our friends. As J.B. was settling the sanctuary for the night, I listened carefully. J.B. gave a soft, gentle hoohuhhoohuh and Foxie gave an equally soft and gentle hoohuhhoohuh back. It was iike when my mother or father came in to kiss me goodnight when I was a kid!. Another lovely thing that happened for me today was when I was dishing up a thick vege stew for the chimpanzees’ dinner. Negra was sitting quietly in the loft up above the kitchen. She seemed busy with something in her own mind. I looked up at her and gave her a quiet nod. She immediately nodded back and then went on doing her own business, Now what can warm one’s heart more than that?
Candace (Tyler, TX) says
Hey, J.B. and Margaret thanks for the lovely story and now I’m off to make my own nest and go to sleep.
Diane and Syd says
JB Your story provides us with another beautiful image to remember.
Are we having a Valentine’s Day party? If so, we would like to contribute.
Jeani Goodrich says
JB, thank you for the wonderful imagery. It is somehow so comforting to know everyone says goodnight to each other. And what joy to know you are included. This just warms me every time I think of it. I’ll add my own hoohuhhoohuh at night and hope they know they are part of a big family who love them very much.
Margaret, you were the lucky one!
Michelle Coburn says
Thank you for sharing that story, it just reminds us we are but a small part of the web of life that interacts, all in it’s own way, to the bonds we share. Goodnight all….hoohoohuhhuh…..
JB says
Amy –
Chimpanzees sleep about 9 to 12 hours a day. Although we don’t keep track, I would guess our folks are closer to the high end. Negra sleeps more than anyone else, while Jamie just seems too busy to sleep.
By the way, Sarah thought I should mention that we can also get the chimps to nest-grunt to us by saying “goodnight” – kind of a multi-lingual conversation.
Theresa says
Great story JB! Thanks for sharing.
Gayle says
Thank you, thank you!!!! I have to tell you…. you made my day!! I just dragged myself in from a horrible day at work and was not in a good mood but this story made “my frown turn upside down”!!! Thank you JB and Margaret….
Amy M. says
JB — one more question — do the chimps do all their sleeping at night or do they take naps during the day?
And Margaret — your exchange with Negra moves me to tears. What a perfect moment, and thank you for sharing it with us.
Shelly Knapp says
This particular blog sequence is so cool. Somehow I knew the goodnight “hoohoohuhhuh” was going to capture us all. I have the funniest images of all of us having a sleep over at the Sanctuary and after a day full of chimp play, happily nodding off at the end of the evening while saying our “hoohoohuhhuh’s” to all…..
Shelly Knapp says
wait! no! it’s “hoohuhhoohuh”…..see?…JB, we need a video so we can hear it! 😉
dee says
well said Michelle.. thanks J.B. for this written visual.. .. I agree, another beautiful image to remember..
very interesting Cindy, letting eachother know where they’re at..
yeah Shelly would love to hear this too and it would be great if there were night-vision video cameras capturing them in the night in their nests and sleep spots .. anyone have an extra night-vision video camera laying around? ..ha..just kidding!!
and thanks Margaret for sharing, like getting a nod from royalty
Theresa says
According to Philip Cronje, primatologist at JGI Chimp Eden, chimps vocalize at nesting time to inform group members where they are. The chimps at the sanctuary do the same thing and they have a few that even “sing” at bedtime. Apparently it’s a way to account that all members of the group are present at nesting time.