What’s better than lunch? SECOND LUNCH.
On Friday, J.B.’s blog post featured a video of seven chimpanzees being served lunch in the Greenhouse. Today, we decided to record lunch on the other side of the building where Honey B, Mave and Willy B reside.
As J.B. explained, the seven chimps in the original group have a specific way of doing things. The newer residents are quite different; among those three, each individual has their own characteristic style and pace.
Honey B gingerly sorts through her food, eating each piece very slowly. She often saves some pieces for last by piling them up between her feet.
Mave is wary of the others and mostly keeps to herself while she scarfs down her food.
Willy B practically inhales his food, making it disappear like some sort of magic trick. When it’s all gone, he sometimes intimidates others into giving up theirs. To promote tolerance and patience, we space out his portions and reward him with extras for letting the others finish their meals in peace. Usually, this special reward is an apple. Teaching him to cooperate using positive reinforcement is less disruptive than separating him from the group. To date, it seems to be working well for Willy and his companions.
This afternoon, I served lunch to the three chimps in the Mezzanine (as you can see in the video). We completed the Mezzanine in August of 2019 and it is currently their largest indoor enclosure. Soon, the three sanctuary inhabitants will be able to access the new playrooms (which are more than twice as big) and, eventually, their own outdoor greenhouse enclosure!
I wish I could join the group for lunch! Thank you for the videos of all of the chimpanzees eating it makes me laugh out loud!
You made my day!
Thank you, Diane!
Hi, Anthony!
I guess I see how this is easier than separating him and using the frisbee (which I thought was a good trick), but don’t Honey B and Mave ever want an apple, too?
That was my question too….After all, doesn’t Honey B deserve an apple for not beaning Willy B with her skateboard ? 🙂
I rewatched it. Willy B is sitting on her blue scooter. I don’t know if he’s copying her “forage faster” style, or if he’s avoiding being whacked with it!
Good questions! Normally, we’d want to only let the chimps see food items that they can get. The problem with Willy is that he’ll take food from the girls if he’s not satisfied, leaving them both at a caloric deficit. Willy is a bigger, more dominant chimp, so giving him the extra apple doesn’t upset the balance and gives HB and Mave a chance to finish theirs. Plus, chimps are good at recognizing patterns and seem to have learned by now that the apple usually goes to Willy. They still get apples, just not that one!
Thanks Anthony! We like to see the not so squeaky wheels get rewarded, too! I love how the ladies create seating off the floor, and how Mave take the inside of the tomato before dropping the outer part on the ground (for Willy)
Oh my gosh lol! The chomping gets me everytime:) timing is everything – what happens after the apple? What if the others aren’t done?
Usually, we give him the apple as HB and Mave are finishing up their chow (or, at the very least, have picked up anything they’ve set down and are busy eating it). Beyond that, everyone’s free to mill around and forage for scraps.
Anthony,
Thank you for this treat. I have not had the privilege of seeing lunch served and learned so much about the three.
Pat
No problem, Pat! I’m glad you liked it.
Oh, joy! Those very charming smacking noises just get me every time! Gotta love those close-ups of the smacking and chewing. Love it! Thank you!
The crunching is the best! Thanks, Marya!
Gee, don’t most people save some of their meal piled up between their feet like Honey B? I know I do!! Just kidding, I loved hearing about their eating habits and watching them eat…quite joyful.
Thanks, Nancy!
Liked your cinematography! Looks as if Mave eats as slowly as Honey B, she was so funny eating those onions and tossing her tomatoes! Willy B is guzzling down his first chow bag and Mave is swaying as she enjoys her second green onion. Plus, Willy B gets to sneak the fallen scraps from both gals, even tomatoes from Honey B and Mave. So what lands on the floor is fair game?
Questions, at about 1:12 Mave flashes a few grimace faces (for lack of a better word). Is she doing this out of excitement for the meal or is she anxious over Willy B? And do both girls sit up high as a result of and/or being prepared for a possible disruption from Willy B?
Willy B knew he earned his apple for his good table manners today but if he had misbehaved would he expect it and still ask for the apple at the end? And what does Willy B do to “intimidate” the girls at mealtime? Does he display or does he actually take the food from them, or both? (Naturally I see him as an angel and perfectly innocent, even if he did get clobbered by Honey B and her scooter, so I’m just a little curious about how naughty he gets.)
Thanks again for video Anthony, especially enjoyed the close ups. Happy crunching for everyone at dinner time. Hope Willy earns another apple.
All good questions, Kathleen! Yes, we don’t have any control over discarded food items so it’s fair game. As long as Willy isn’t being outwardly intimidating or aggressive, we usually let it slide. As for the facial expression at 1:12, it seems like Mave is just excited about the food and showed a little teeth during one of her grunts. She does grimace sometimes, especially right as breakfast is being brought out, and I would probably attribute that to a mix of excitement and social tension. I don’t know why Mave sits up high, but Willy might have something to do with it. It might simply be more comfortable. As for the apple, if Willy had chosen to go after the girls’ food (by, for example, giving them a long gaze accompanied by a low vocalization and a threatening wave of the arm), then we’d remove the apple from the area so that he associates the departure of the apple with his own undesirable behavior. It requires a bit of thinking on his part, but chimps are smart enough to figure that stuff out as long as we remain consistent!
Thank you Anthony for your answers. Mave is so dear. Your comment about “excitement and social tension” makes sense. And I totally understand the apple technique now. So the timing of the removal is key. Like a negative reinforcement, you do something undesirable and we remove a reward at the time you do the undesirable action. You make the connection that bad action looses high value treat… “oops, don’t do that again”. This is done with dog training too. No doubt Willy B is smart and his desire to enjoy his special apple is grater than breathing down HB and Mave necks as they eat. : )
Really enjoyed this extra long video of Lunch Time at the Zoo. I am not sure I understand why Willy is aware that the apple is a reward for good behavior but if you say it is working, I say G R E A T.
Hi Elaine! I’m glad you liked it! I answered a similar question above, so I’m pasting that here:
“As for the apple, if Willy had chosen to go after the girls’ food… then we’d remove the apple from the area so that he associates the departure of the apple with his own undesirable behavior. It requires a bit of thinking on his part, but chimps are smart enough to figure that stuff out as long as we remain consistent!”
The process seems to be working for now, but any complex social dynamic can change rapidly. Of course, we’ll be open to adjustments that may work better for the chimps in the future.
“Willie B practically inhales…” I laughed so loud I had to stop reading for a second.
I love hearing about their individual styles. we always learn so much!
Thanks, Don, for appreciating the blog post (and my humor).
Great, informative and ever so entertaining video.. particularly your acknowledgement of us… I ditto Kathleen’s various questions… as well as the questions about whether the girls get apple for just being awesome girls… It looks so well orchestrated based on keeping positive reinforcement a primary tool and your understanding of their “system” and what it requires to keep the peace is so thorough. Thanks Anthony!
I’m all about breaking the fourth wall!
You have good questions, Judy, and I think I’ve answered them in other comments so I’ll paste my explanations here:
Regarding Kathleen’s questions:
“Yes, we don’t have any control over discarded food items so it’s fair game. As long as Willy isn’t being outwardly intimidating or aggressive, we usually let it slide. As for the facial expression at 1:12, it seems like Mave is just excited about the food and showed a little teeth during one of her grunts. She does grimace sometimes, especially right as breakfast is being brought out, and I would probably attribute that to a mix of excitement and social tension. I don’t know why Mave sits up high, but Willy might have something to do with it. It might simply be more comfortable. As for the apple, if Willy had chosen to go after the girls’ food (by, for example, giving them a long gaze accompanied by a low vocalization and a threatening wave of the arm), then we’d remove the apple from the area so that he associates the departure of the apple with his own undesirable behavior. It requires a bit of thinking on his part, but chimps are smart enough to figure that stuff out as long as we remain consistent!”
As far as HB and Mave are concerned, their reward is that Willy isn’t bothering them.
“The problem with Willy is that he’ll take food from the girls if he’s not satisfied, leaving them both at a caloric deficit” and causing them a good bit of stress. “Willy is a bigger, more dominant chimp, so giving him the extra apple doesn’t upset the balance and gives HB and Mave a chance to finish theirs. Plus, chimps are good at recognizing patterns and seem to have learned by now that the apple usually goes to Willy. They still get apples, just not that one!”
Ideally, we wouldn’t have to put this kind of effort into serving meals. Our long-term goal is to continue simplifying the process until the chimps are accustomed to waiting their turn and no additional training is needed.