As demonstrated in this video, in addition to Jamie’s long-held love of boots, we can usually rely on Terry and Lucky (in the other group) to check out our footwear. Honey B is an all-around curious type. And I’ve noticed Mave is very keen on foot coverings, but she is more subtle about it.
Go ahead, give us your guesses as to why so many chimpanzees are fascinated by human shoes!
Is it because they come in so many different colors and make sounds that chimp feet don’t make?
I think they’re just like people when it comes to shoes. Some of us see shoes as a necessity and only own/wear what is absolutely needed to leave the house. In my case, my current pair of sneakers are the only shoes I wear 99% of the time. Other people prefer to have a closet full of shoes in all styles and colors. Why would the chimps view shoes any differently than we do?
they may be wondering how you are able to change your feet all the time and why. Have you taken off your socks and shoes and shown them your toes before? They’ve seen your hands, they may not be able to figure out what’s going on with your feet and why they are so different from your hands and from their own hands and feet? and well of course, shoes do smell good!
Sometimes they take off their shoes for Annie. She’s obsessed with bare feet 🙂
And why does Annie believe that they are totally unnecessary and that everyone should be barefoot?
I’ve always thought that in Jamie’s case, it was probably the entertainment industry that did it. Whoever was carrying the keys and giving orders was probably wearing some fancy ones. Authority.
But now I think…. they know and understand why we wear clothes, because they can put on clothes and bla kets and feel the difference in temperature. But they can’t fathom why we put things on ou feet, bc they keep us from using our toes and toe thumbs!
I agree with Linda. I’m inclined to think that other mammals look at humans and conclude that we are either vain, weird, or not as top of the hierarchy as we act like we are because we cover up some of our bodies. With shoes like we wear, no wonder we can’t scale pine and fur trees like Missy.
Just further proof that humans are the weakest, least-advanced species in the Evolutionary Tree.
Well, as Nancy Sinatra once sang “these boots are made for walkin” and I think they would they would like to go for a stroll in a pair. Has Jamie actually tried to get her foot in one of her boots? I know I am coveting those yellow boots ?
The video “Sharing” has her wearing one.
And there’s this. It says January 25, 2013, but that’s not the blog it was posted to, so I can’t find it.
There’s this:
https://chimpsnw.org/2010/01/jamies-new-boots/
Thanks Linda, I will check it out.
I don’t think we will ever know for sure what goes on in anyone else’s mind.
But right from the get go, I felt a kinship with Jamie over our shared love of boots, one time I saw a pair of red cowboy boots in an antique store, and the girl that worked there must have thought I was crazy, when I said my friend would really like them, I pointed them out to my huband saying “wouldn’t Jaimie love those ?” And he laughed and said she probably had enough boots, How many can one Chimpanzee have?
You can never have enough boots !
Oh how I adore Lucky’s beautiful face.
Like Lucky, I like shoes. All types! I think shoes are colorful, decorative, creative objects of art. Oh to be able to tour the Costume Institute shoe collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art! All around the globe, for centuries, people from different countries, cultures, societies, wear shoes. You could tell a story of our history through our footware.
Perhaps it’s just a primate thing!
I’ve often wondered this myself! I’ve heard of a lot of other chimpanzees in other sanctuaries that also have an affinity for footwear. I know Noelle at the Primate Rescue Center is a big boot fan (she also loves books and magazines, just like Jamie!).
I would posit that it’s because our feet are different than theirs. Our feet aren’t really as versitile as theirs are. We don’t have opposible toes, so we only really use ours to walk on. We also keep them covered almost all the time. Unlike regular clothes, shoes are pretty inflexible. I guess maybe that’s why it’s so interesting for them? They also come in all sorts of different styles and colors.
Then again, I know a lot of chimpanzees in captivity also like hats and scarves. Arthur at Save the Chimps loves sunglasses. I would be interested to hear what researchers’ experiences with wild chimpanzees are. Do a lot of them seem to be fascinated with shoes? Hats? It’s an interesting topic.
My guess is that “feet” are even more important to chimps than feet are to humans…most humans have lost much of what was possibly the same hand-like abilities that a chimp’s feet possess. Maybe chimps intuitively see/grasp the protective value of foot coverings and are interested in things that might also give them that added protection. Captive chimps have the opportunity to see and evaluate such coverings on their caregivers which chimps in the wild do not. (Socks are another protective foot covering (though not as protective as boots!) which at least one CSNW chimp resident favors!) 🙂