Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

The tell

by

Chimpanzee communication involves many overt and unmistakable expressions, from eardrum-piercing pant hoots to boisterous dominance displays, but much of what they convey is far more subtle. This morning, as the chimps were being invited to shift enclosures for breakfast, the routine ground to a halt. Negra would not come inside from the greenhouse, even when presented with bowl of peanuts. Jody kept glancing over her shoulder. And Annie sat in the doorway from the playroom, clearly interested in breakfast but unwilling to commit.

I looked towards Burrito. Sitting quietly on a bench with his hands folded in his lap, he was the picture of calm.

Or was he?

Here’s why chimpanzees would be terrible at poker. As soon as they had a good hand, their hair would stand on end and their skin would be riddled with goosebumps, betraying their excitement. Piloerection, as it is known, is the ultimate tell, a dead giveaway for a chimps’ internal state.

Behind Burrito’s otherwise calm demeanor was a simmering cauldron of testosterone, adrenaline, and pent up frustration (due in large part to Jody’s tumescent backside). The chimps could read this from a mile away. The fuse had been lit and everyone was waiting for the bomb to go off.

They were, of course, correct in their assessment, and we soon took a five-minute break from serving breakfast while Burrito rattled the cage doors and occasionally lunged at anyone nearby. Once he got it out of his system, everyone finished shifting and we got on with the day.

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  1. Well, see, now I’m picturing Jamie drumming her fingers on a tabletop, as she holds a straight flush and waits for Foxie to raise or call…….

    Really, totally calm? His foot wasn’t tapping, not even a little!? 😀

  2. Oh Burrito, hard for me to imagine him displaying since he always looks wickedly adorable and innocent! Was his morning display just the run-of-the-mill morning event or was he irritated over Negra not moving and therefore holding up his breakfast (we all know how much Burrito loves his food!). And was Annie hanging in the doorway as a supporter of Negra’s or was she hanging out to be sure she wasn’t going to miss anything, like the peanuts that Negra was not going to be bribed with (astounding Negra wasn’t going to fall for a peanut bribe!). J.B. I know you can’t speak for what goes on in their heads, but I would be curious to hear your take on it.

    • I took the second to last paragraph to mean that Jody’s in estrus, and even though he doesn’t know what to do, the hormones took over, and he was a little more crazy that usual.
      I can imagine the display in part because I’ve seen the other videos, where he does the rain dance, or struts, or the one on displays….what I can’t imagine is him lunging at somebody!
      Actually, his displaying is part of what I loved about the Thanksgiving video this year, and his birthday video, when he spots the pasta….He gets so worked up over the food, he starts walking bidpedally, and just is beside himself!

      • 99% of all mornings start with a Burrito display (and possibly a small skirmish as a result). There is a classic (and I think outdated) idea in animal behavior known as the hydraulic model that says that certain drives and motivations continuously build, as if under pressure, until they must be released, at which point they begin to build again. To me this perfectly describes Burrito’s behavior, flawed though the model may be. Once the “pressure” is released, he can go on with his day. Certain things can increase that pressure, such as the girls being in estrus. If Burrito exhibited normal sexual behavior, perhaps that pressure would be relieved in a different way but that is not to be.

        His displays can become quite threatening and if the girls ever push back on him it seems he feels the need not to give in, which pushes the level of aggression higher.

        I think that the girls could sense that he hadn’t released his morning aggression yet, so they were wary of being in that area of the building with him until it was over. Which was smart. They wanted breakfast but were willing to see how things played out first.

        • Thank you J.B. for your answer. Now I get it, I was focusing on Burrito’s motivations but now it makes perfect sense that it was the ladies laying in wait for him to pop his cork! And now I see why Negra, of all people, was not going to bribed by the peanuts. Oh dear. Never a dull moment in the morning I guess. Poor Burrito…..must be hard to make sense of the conflicting messaging he experiences inside his head and heart.

          We see a similar behavior in some dogs (although the reason for the behavior is clearly not the same). Especially in the dogs who have been in a shelter for a spell. You can see the glint in their eye from a mile away, and it is often said that their drive/excitement is like a pressure cooker, building up and needing to be released. We call the behavior “The Zoomies”. I bet you’ve seen it in your dogs! The glint in their eyes is the first sign, immediately followed by a tightly tucked tail, perhaps the ears tuck tightly to their heads, and then Bang-O! Off they run like a wild, frantic beast, zooming about in circles at high speed until it all gets out of their system. When the dog is a The Zoomie Zone there is no connecting with them, they are not listening, they are gone baby gone! When this happens the best thing you can do is dive out of their way or get knocked over! (And yes, I’ve been knocked over more times than I like to admit).

          • We had a chow, Honey B, that would get the zooms. Did you know that cows can get the zooms, too? You had better stay out of Betsy’s way when she’s zooming.

          • I did NOT know that cows had zoomies too, and I live in cow country. I have seen cows romping but that’s it. Can’t imagine a big girl like Betsy coming at you full bore, might be hard for her to bank the curve on the roundabout. ; )

      • Oh yeah, I got the whole Jody’s swelling thing, poor Mr. B right?! (Poor Jody, she’ll have Mr. B following her around like a dog on short leash!) But I was still curious what other type of behaviors in the chimp house come into play to trigger his displays, especially knowing how acute chimps observations are. Because Burrito isn’t a wild chimp, I am always so very curious about his captive take on his outer and inner world. Oh to see the world from their side. Like you Linda, I do giggle over his displays and sometimes cheer him on from my seat in the audience! : )

        • So strange, that violent side, considering the fact that when the girls mix it up at meal time, he’s usually hanging out up above, staying out of it all. I guess we just put it down to hormones, like JB says.

  3. For further reference, please see the video posted on Sept 9 of last year. The ladies were enjoying a lovely Sunday brunch when, suddenly, Mr. B. commenced a display. Consequently, the video from Annie’s birthday party the following day featured Burrito on his best behavior. No harm, no foul…