One of the things that I like about the GoPro camera is that you can hear some of the sounds that the chimps are making when they are way out on the hill. In this video, you can hear food grunts from Jamie and Jody and of course a couple of Burrito’s famous food squeaks.
You can also hear Foxie’s breathy panting as she reassures Burrito. Chimps will often reassure one another with vocalizations like this, as well as through touch and embrace, when the potential for conflict exists. If there is a limited resource, like nuts and seeds spread on the ground on Young’s Hill, the chimps will sometimes try to make nice before a conflict erupts over who stole food from whom, in an effort to prevent this kind of conflict. Normally, the chimp receiving the reassurance would provide some sort of acknowledgement, but that’s not Burrito’s style – he prefers to close his eyes and pretend that uncomfortable situations don’t exist.
That’s really interesting… Burrito sounds like he has social anxiety, or whatever that would be for a chimp. Maybe one reason he hasn’t taken his place as alpha male? And why did Foxie put her face up to his bum? Is that a chimp behavior? Anyway, great video! Thanks for posting!
You’re right, Burrito did not grow up in a normal social environment (born in a lab, lived as a pet, leased to the circus, then spent 20 years in Hepatitis vaccine research), so he never developed the social skills required to navigate the chimp world. Thus he gets anxious and lacks confidence in some social situations and is unprepared to develop alliances that would allow him to become an alpha male.
Foxie was giving Burrito a kiss (or soft bite) on his lower back to reassure him.
Thanks, JB. Burrito was concentrating on what he enjoys most, eating food ! It reminded me of the Easter video of him plucking the carrots out of the ground and making for the indoors with his stash!
I’m so happy that sweet Burrito is safe now and I’m happy that he has a good friend like Foxie. It’s amazing that they are as well as they are thanks to you all. 🙂
Interesting…who picked up the nuts in front of the camera first? Why didn’t she take all the nuts, and why did Burrito pass them by? Were they looking for a specific kind of nut? Do they have favorites?
Jamie was the first one on the screen. When there is a wide variety of foods available, the chimps will select their favorites first and then go back for the rest. I can’t remember what kinds we put out for the forage, but obviously the Brazil nut was not at the top of anyone’s list 🙂