I was going through today’s photos of the chimpanzees, and these two stood out to me. It’s not uncommon to see Jamie looking confident and relaxed; as the leader of the group, she has every reason to be confident.
But I love that Annie, who’s at the bottom of the social hierarchy, looks just as calm and content. Though Annie’s low-ranking position in the group brings with it a certain amount of stress, she is finding more and more moments of peace as the years go by.
why is she the lowest ranked?
is she the weakest?
Hi, Stephanie. Chimpanzee dominance is a pretty complex issue with lots of contributing factors. Personality, ambition, intelligence (particularly social intelligence), physical strength, and opportunity all play a role, to varying degrees. It’s often assumed that the biggest, strongest individual is going to be the leader of their group, but that’s not always the case; we can’t count out personality. I think a large part of why Jamie’s in charge here is that she believes wholeheartedly that she should be.
I think of it as similar to human dominance. It’s true that not everyone is capable of being CEO of a large company, but it’s also true that not everyone WANTS to be CEO of a large company.
Annie is such a lovely beautiful little girl,
Annie has come a long way, although low ranking, she does have Missy –
Sweet girl…
Annie is tops in my eyes! ; ) Love both photos, I always giggle at Jamie’s silly little grin!