Peering is an interesting part of chimpanzee culture. One chimp will get uncomfortably close to another and stare at them intently, usually with hopes to convince them to share whatever it is that they are eating or drinking. Occasionally the chimp being stared at will share, but sometimes they are excellent at just pretending not to notice that someone is 2″ from their face and will either completely ignore them or calmly turn away. It is so intense and makes me feel uneasy just watching it! Check out this video of a couple of older clips of peering that I found:
Annie peering at Negra munching on some cabbage leaves:
Foxie peering at Annie:
The reason I wanted to share a little insight into this behavior is because during the St. Patrick’s Day party, I caught an interesting interaction between Foxie and Annie. As part of their forage, I put out cups of yellow Gatorade and filled up a large bucket we have with diluted Gatorade for fun. Foxie immediately went over to sit by it, obviously in hopes to sneak a drink. But Jamie was foraging nearby, so Foxie seemed a bit uneasy taking a drink from the one and only giant tub of Gatorade without getting some sort of permission from the boss that it was okay (check out this video for how Foxie would normally do that). She sat there for a really long time with Jamie foraging nearby, and seemed very nervous, though Jamie seemed completely content without the bucket.
Then, Annie (surprisingly enough) confidently walked right over, picked up the bucket, and took a big gulp with Jamie and Foxie watching the whole time.
Foxie then intently peered at Annie, maybe in hopes that Annie would share her Gatorade or perhaps to see what the consequences were of taking a drink without permission.
Once Annie walked away, Foxie had gained the courage to take a drink for herself.
Wonderful post. I love all of the photos and personally, if Annie used that face on me I would pretty much give her WHATEVER I had that she wanted. 🙂
P.S. My office mate is eating some really tasty looking terra chips. I am going to go sit uncomfortably close to her and stare into the open bag.
Jedi mind tricks.
so interesting (and funny!) .. all yous caretakers take such good pictures to capture the stories!
this reminds me of my cat who sort of does that to the other two cats we have (this intense look of “are you gonna eat that?) but then ultimately shoves them out of the way to eat their food too. and they don’t mind!
thanks for the laugh Jordan, too funny!
I love learning more about the chimps and their behaviors. It’s always so interesting.
Question for you. Annie has very long finger nails, and my sister Annie Norris, and I have talked about how the others keep them short. Why does Annie have such long finger nails while the others have short nails? How do the other keep them so short?
Thanks.
I believe the other chimps usually either bite their nails or they break somehow. I’m not really sure why Annie’s are so long- maybe she just has really strong nails? Or perhaps they just don’t bother her like the bother other people (including myself! 😉 ). I just can’t say for sure.
I guess that makes sense. Just like us humans, which they are so close to being, some have really strong nails, some have weak nails, and a lot of people bit their nails. It just amazes me as to how long Annie’s nails are. Thanks for responding Jackie.
My Old English Sheepdog does this to her Collie sister. She stares at her with a bone until Duchess gets up, walks away. Then Tallie swoops in to get the bone! Duchess comes to me and looks up sadly – I go get the bone from Tally and the scenario starts all over again:)
Dogs do this all the time too!….”If I stare at them long enough, they will give me that juicy morsel they are eating” ! 🙂 Chimps just move in a little closer! 🙂 Great photos!
With the self-confidence that Annie keeps exhibiting, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s leading this bunch in a year or two. Okay, probably not, but I love those moments when she’s less timid. Foxie’s peer at her is priceless! In my mind Foxie is saying “uh, are you crazy?”
Oh my,my, Annie certainly has gained much confidence,, she just may surprise us all one day,,