Whenever I try to describe wadging, I end up making it sound too clinical: Chimpanzees wadge in order to extract nutrients from fibrous foods. This is true in the sense that humans eat food in order to extract nutrients, but but it doesn’t get at the enjoyment that we feel when we eat.
I’m pretty sure that chimps get that same feeling when they wadge. One of the most mysterious aspects of it (to me anyway, maybe there’s a good explanation) is that they seem compelled to keep checking on the wadge. They hold it out on the tip of their lips for a visual inspection. They take it out and hold in their hand. They work on rolling it into the perfect ball. I don’t know what makes a wadge good or bad from a chimp’s perspective, but it seems like they are constantly evaluating them.
Young’s Hill is too dry for growing cattails, but we collect them from a nearby pond and give them to the chimps. Cattails are great for wadging, as Burrito demonstrates here:
The pictures of the chimps always make me smile. I love their wonderful, expressive faces. The true meaning of beauty!
I get what you are saying JB. Maybe it is sort of like us blowing a whopping bubble with a big ‘wadge’ of bubble gum. We work the gum until it is perfect, and soft , to blow that big, perfect, transparent bubble. It is a process and it is personal and it is enjoyable. So funny to think about. I love that that the chimps keep checking it their wage and I never knew they put it into their hands to look at! Burrito made me feel like I might just get the whole wage thing however. Thanks for the insight.
Right down the road from me is a lake/wetland that is surrounded with cattails. I will have to pick them at their prime and mail them to the chimps. Cattails are good food.
I don’t know why but this reminds me of folks that chew tobacco (yuk)…the obvious difference is the spitting (yuk again) 🙂 Getting off topic here…well, not really…you mentioned the hill is too dry and I’ve often wondered this…have you guys ever thought of installing, digging, etc. a pond or some kind of water feature and if so, do you think the chimps would enjoy it? I know they’re not fond of actually swimming around but do you think it might attract other forms of wildlife that they might like to watch the comings and goings of?
PS. this was a great video of Burrito with “just a pinch between his cheek and gum” 🙂
Hi Chris – It’s a neat idea, but I think in terms of bang for the buck it’s just not worth it at this time. Because Young’s Hill is so steep and there is no natural spring to keep a pond filled, it would require a lot of excavation and the installation of a water-tight lining to keep all the water from seeping out. That would end up being a pretty big project. The chimps would definitely get some enjoyment out of it but it’s probably not something we could do at this point.
Ever since I learned it’s better for the digestion to chew your food thoroughly, I have been wadging like the chimps. First I chew my veggies, fruit, grains or beans and then push the wadge against my teeth to squeeze out the juice over and over again until the food is chewed finely before I swallow it. I had to learn from the chimps how to chew properly, except I don’t play with my food — unless it’s gum!
Thanks J.B. probably a very expensive project indeed, when there are so many other things they need more than a luxury item, like a pond! 🙂 Just a thought!