Welcome to the first installment of “Field Notes,” a blog where we share some of the more recent research articles.
In today’s edition, we will go over a sound that can be heard throughout the Chimp House on those perfect days: laughter!
Recently, researchers from Warwick University and Portsmouth University, both based in the United Kingdom, analyzed recordings of chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans living in zoos in the Germany and Malaysia. Researchers also analyzed the laughing patterns of human children as a comparison to the apes’ laughter.
The recordings were taken when the apes laughed during periods of play with a caregiver whom they know fairly well and tickled by their familiar human.
The research found all apes, including humans, have a rhythmic pattern to their laughter with humans being the only found (so far) to alter their laugh based on the context of the situation invoking the laugh. Researchers found the speed of the laughter, which is the part I found interesting, changed from species-to-species. Not only did the speed of the laughter change based on species, but it also fell nicely in line with the theory of when scientists predict each species branched out on the evolutionary tree. The theory is orangutans were the first to be stabilized as their own species, followed by gorillas, followed by chimpanzees and bonobos, and finally humans. Orangutans were found to have the slowest laughing rate, followed by gorillas, followed by chimpanzees and bonobos, followed by humans.
Here in the Chimp House, laughter is the greatest sound a caregiver can hear, and I’ve heard my share. For me, the two laughs that stick out are Honey B’s and, you guessed it, Burrito’s laugh.
It’s still hard for me to believe there was a period when Burrito did not laugh! Back in 2021, Diana wrote about Burrito’s laugh, or lack thereof, when he first arrived at the sanctuary in 2008. To me, Burrito has such a distinct laugh that can be picked out anywhere in the sanctuary. My favorite is when you get him really going and his laugh comes from his belly. That is usually my goal when I play with him; to get him to that specific laugh that cannot be contained no matter how hard he tries.
Honey B’s laugh stands out to me because she only has one volume: LOUD!
As someone who studies language, both chimp and human, it was neat seeing the patterns of laughing kind of fit nicely in the evolutionary process of apes. If you had the ape evolutionary branch in front of you, you can sort of guesstimate where on the branch human speech started to develop.
With that, I will leave you with this very precious video of Burrito laughing while playing with our dearly missed Jody.
And a last minute photo of Rayne!
Such a touching article. Burrito now laughs! :heart_eyes:
Your BFF really *does* have the best belly laugh, Chad!
Nothing beats hearing them laugh! Especially the original group, since they would have been the most traumatized by their past. That is a really beautiful picture of Rayne at the bottom.
Hi Chad, I knew I was going to like your Field Notes posts but I had no idea how much until I read this! So intrigued over primate laughter, I almost forgot to post a reply (insert here : my human laughter at myself). Very interesting to discover how laughter branched out on the evolutionary tree. I had never thought about orangutans or gorillas laughter – captive or in the wild. I suppose I just took it for granted that they do laugh and play like the chimpanzees at CSNW. Needless to say I went down the rabbit hole, searching for reputable information and videos on primate laughter. What fun!
As far as Burrito having a time in his life when he did not laugh, I find it incomprehensible! When I first met Burrito I witnessed him having a wild game chase and tug with J.B. and Burrito’s laughter was honestly contagious. But what I found even funnier was the fact that Burrito is very funny and he knows he is funny! I would almost swear his shenanigans was not just for his own benefit of having fun, he was also playing and laughing because he wholeheartedly enjoyed J.B.’s response.
Thank you for all the links within your post, which then led me down the rabbit hole following all the links in those posts—Burrito’s goofball expression while eating his lettuce is my all time favorite!! Even so, it was the video of Burrito and Jody that was truly the very best. Impossibly hard to ignore Burrito’s laughter but Jody’s relaxed, lower lip play face stole the show. How I miss seeing that expression on her beautiful face.
Thank you, Chad, for this blog post from the Field and your choice of photographs. I love seeing the chimpanzees looking happy with their play faces and drooping lower lips; better still is to hear them laughing. My first exposure to the CSNW was a video where Burrito was laughing up a storm while playing tug-o’-war and his “up-high, down-low” finger-touching game with his friend Keri. Once again, I couldn’t help but to laugh along with Jody as she tickled all the laughs out of Bubba in that classic video.
And, although she is not lighting up the room with a play face, the final photograph of Raynie with her cloak draping her shoulders is very good.