Ellen Brady-McGaughey

As I was putting together videos for today’s blog, some playful moments between Foxie, Jamie, Burrito and Negra, I realized they presented a nice moment to highlight the complicated intricacies of chimpanzee politics and friendships. We have observed a lot of complicated and sometimes downright confusing moments as we have undergone the reintroduction process with the group of 9, constantly looking to understand their relationships and dynamics to determine next steps, but “it’s complicated” can be applied even in long-standing groups of chimpanzees like Jamie’s group.

Chimpanzees can be brutal. They fight and injure each other, and being low ranking within the group hierarchy can be a tough role to fill. Lower ranking individuals endure more stealing of things like food from higher ranking individuals, usually don’t get first access to the most exciting items (like more novel or high-value foods or enrichment), and can become the recipient of redirected aggression during conflicts within their group even when they weren’t initially involved because they are an “easy” target. Maintaining status as a high-ranking individual isn’t easy either, and depending on the individual and their strategy for maintaining status in their group, they may put themself in harm’s way more frequently in attempts to maintain or improve their rank. An example of this in action could be Willy B displaying and hitting Lucky as part of a dominance display, which then results in many chimps chasing and hitting at Willy B.

Chimpanzees are also capable of remarkable forgiveness and reconciliation, and form meaningful relationships that shape not only their own lives but greatly impact the lives of those around them as well. While the moments of fighting, aggression, and tension can feel very big for us as the humans caring for them, the chimpanzees are often quick to overlook another’s transgressions, and spend time grooming and playing to ease tension and build relationships. Being high-ranking is often not as simple as who is the biggest, strongest, or fastest. Relationships with the other chimpanzees can highly influence where an individual falls in the hierarchy, as friendships can translate to having support during conflicts (or a lack of support), and can limit or expand an individual’s aspirations for higher rank.

I say all that to say, witnessing moments of play between high-ranking and often imposing Jamie and low-ranking Foxie is all the sweeter when you recognize the complexities of their relationship. While Jamie can be intimidating and domineering, they can still find common ground and enjoy moments of play. Burrito and Negra too have a complicated relationship – they have a standing play time each day as they wait for us to finish cleaning their playroom, but Negra is also often a target for Burrito when he feels the need to display. While there are moments of tension, they enjoy many more moments of play and companionship. Being a chimp is just plain complicated!