In the afternoon, the chimps can often be found gathered together in grooming parties. At CSNW, these parties usually take place on elevated platforms or, as you can see here, in a corner of the playroom loft. Though grooming partners change from day to day and even minute to minute, over time you can observe stable patterns of affiliation – what we would rightly call friendships. Grooming can also be viewed as a form of currency to be used strategically – I do a favor for you by grooming you, and at some point you can pay me back by sharing food, being less aggressive toward me, etc.
Based on research conducted by former CWU student and CSNW intern Jake Funkhouser, we know that Jamie and Negra are the least likely to be involved in these grooming sessions. Negra’s lack of interest in grooming shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that she is less social overall than the others. But Jamie? Shouldn’t the boss get groomed the most?
It may have something to do with the fact that Jamie directs much of her grooming behavior towards the staff and volunteers, which is not unusual in chimps raised by humans. But we can’t discount the face of Jamie that led us to think of her as the boss in the first place – she is a bit of a bully. And it may just be that while aggressiveness will win you an extra piece of fruit now and then, it won’t win you a lot of friends.
The heart of the social network, as Jake discovered, was Jody. She had strong affiliative relationships with the other chimps and was most often the recipient of grooming. As you can see in this video, Burrito and Foxie are engaged in reciprocal grooming, but Annie is happy to groom Jody without receiving anything in return (well, at least not at this time). This is quite the privilege.
Knowing this changes how we see the group, and it will inform the way we approach integrating other chimps. There’s certainly a lot going on in these quiet moments.
Fascinating to gain these new insights, JB. How much there is to learn if we just stop and watch.
Thanks so much for this insight ~ just fascinating!! Love and hugs to you all…
This is very interesting and it must have been engrossing for those doing the research. Grooming seems so intimate. Missy hoping in late was sweet, seemed she wasn’t sure how to sneak into the mix so she began with a little hair fluffing on Foxie.
Does Jamie always seek out one of the humans (for grooming or perimeter walks) when the chimps form their afternoon grooming sessions or will she go off and find a project, or nap instead? Makes me feel sorry for Jamie knowing she doesn’t quite fit into the groups grooming. But it’s her choice to seek out the caregivers for those needs and the reality that you are there for her must give her comfort. Friends, no matter who they are, raise you up.
Great post, many thanks J.B.. Would love to read the students/interns papers. (Seriously, I would. I geek out on this sort of thing.) ; )
Hi Kathleen – When I was filming this video, Jamie was in a day nest at the bottom of the playroom stairs. I may have made it sound like the other chimps intentionally leave her out of the grooming sessions, and that’s probably not the case. They may not seek her out, but she in turn may not feel the desire to join them either.
Regarding the papers, one of them, which uses Social Network Analysis to examine the dynamics of the Cle Elum Seven, is linked to in the text of the blog post above.
Here’s another, which uses data from the CSNW research along with data from wild Tibetan macaques to examine whether or not the results of traditional measurements of dominance are consistent with one another (they’re not) and argues for a broader, more nuanced version of social dominance: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-32243-2. There’s enough statistical analysis in this one to keep you geeking out for weeks 🙂
Jake is still working through his trove of data and will hopefully have some results to share soon of an interesting look at how humans fit into the social networks of the chimps. This is the research that I am most excited about because it is such an overlooked aspect of captive primate care.
Great article, JB. I feel sorry for Jamie even tho the isolation from the Grooming Parties seems to be her own choice.