Sometimes the chimps can be silly – very silly! But, who do you think is the silliest chimp of all?
Burrito
Field Notes: A Laughing Matter
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!
Windows
There are several windows around the sanctuary; find out who’s looking at who!
The Gatorade Heist
Today was one of those rare quiet and peaceful days where the chimps were all busy doing their own thing. However, I was able to snag a few photos!
Annie ever-so slyly got Negra’s Gatorade bucket that she didn’t finish. Miraculously, Jamie didn’t even get mad once she realized Annie had it. But Burrito and Foxie intensely supervised Annie drinking the bucket of Gatorade. Annie also declined the opportunity to offer or share any.
Missy quickly came to Negra’s side to groom her while nesting.
And Dora had an especially nice morning eating her apples!
Negra enjoying some wild roses and chives on a breezy afternoon.
Mental Health Awareness Month
As May ends and June starts to usher in summer, I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight Mental Awareness Month. This is by no means the most in depth history about the recognized month. In fact, I will be honest that most of the information I got is from Wikipedia.
Mental Health Awareness Month was established in 1949 to raise awareness around individual’s suffering from conditions such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and suicide. Every year there is a theme to help boost awareness. This year’s theme is “More Good Days, Together.” Mental Health America, the organization who established the awareness then known as National Association for Mental Health, chose this year’s theme to encourage everybody to reflect on what a “good” day means to them and their communities. The way I interpret that is we know what a good day looks like for us individually, but what does a good day look like to everybody else and how can we help others achieve their good day.
This year’s theme really made me think: what does a good day look like to everyone else here. I know what a good day here looks like to me. To me a good day is everybody shifts without hesitation, they eat all of their meals, there were no fights, the cattle took their own meds and I didn’t have to fight someone off of someone else’s, and Bruce allowed me to love him. There are some other small minor things, but those are the big ones. Now admittedly, I really don’t know what a good day to the other caregivers looks like. 😬 I think I just assumed theirs looked identical to mine. But in the spirit of theme, it’s really making me think about that.
Mental health is such an important topic in the caregiver world. Burnout is one cause of the low attrition rate in this career field, and burnout hits fast and hard. Most of what I say next is just based on my own observations and personal experience. If I had to guess why the burnout rate is high is just due to the multitude of things we are responsible for. I know for me, this job is always on the top of my mind. Whether I’m on site, at home, on vacation, it doesn’t matter. Every worry, whether it be a fight, some social tension, upcoming procedure, etc., all those things follow me everywhere I go. No matter what I’m doing or where I am, I have chimps on the brain.
Though George’s situation has “cooled down” from what it was for me, now Negra occupies most of my thoughts. So as you can see, this job is a one thing right after another kind of job.
This job is one that keeps you on your toes… 24/7! For me, even though this is pretty much a 24/7 type of job, I get great gratification seeing the chimps playful and happy. That, regardless of how long it lasts, is what gets me out of bed in the morning. There are the hard times, but going through the storm to feel levitated like that is 1000% worth it.
For years, Mental Health America has tried to rip down the curtain of stigma that surrounds mental health for some reason. I tend to be as open and honest with mine in case it can be of any help to anybody else going through it. And it thrills me that stigma seems to be waning for now, which is why I think they chose the theme that they did for this year: to help others in need.
Be sure to check Mental Health America’s resource page of a lot of different resources out there to help you or someone you know in a crisis. The world is a better place with you in it because you help better the world.
A Tomato Connoisseur
One of the most delicious things about summer is eating fresh tomatoes from the vine. But, did you know there is a proper way to eat a tomato?
Learn from Cy, the tomato connoisseur!
Photogenic Chimpanzees
When I arrived at the sanctuary this morning, I was determined to get as many photos as I could before our weekly staff meeting/training began. One, because a lot of you just love seeing photos of the chimps and their daily adventures. Two, because I wanted to prove to myself that I could get as many photos of as many chimps as I could. Granted, as some of you are aware, trying to get photos of some of them is almost impossible because either they come running up and get too close to the caging to get a photo, or they are in those few spots around the sanctuary where it is impossible to get a photo. Looking at you George, Cy, Dora, and Mave.
So please enjoy the product of this self challenge!
Burrito at breakfast:
Rayne during lunch today:
Gordo doing a little self-grooming:
Willy B also self-grooming:
Foxie and Moana go for a walk around Young’s Hill:
Sweet Lucky:
Missy at breakfast:
Terry waiting for a caregiver grooming partner after lunch:
Just noting that I did indeed get photos of Jamie and Annie, but they were a one shot scenario where the photo didn’t come out. Honey B was busy doing Honey B things on the Bray and in the Chute. She was just to fast/busy for me to get a photo. And Negra said no in her own Negra way by burying her face in her nest when the camera was raised. I obey all of the Queen’s demands.
For me, I would consider getting photos of half the chimps today was a success. Maybe in the near future I will try again.
