Are the chimpanzees at the sanctuary peaceful and quiet all of the time? This video starts to answer that question.
display
Chimpanzee Displays: Causing a Ruckus
J.B. shared a slo mo video of Jamie displaying yesterday (her slowed down vocalization sounds pretty intimidating!).
In keeping with the theme, below is a video of all seven chimpanzees taking part in displaying earlier today.
If you are interested in this sort of thing, you might also find this video that shows and explains a conflict among the chimpanzees, a fascinating watch.
Slo Mo Dominance Display
What’s more terrifying than a chimpanzee dominance display? A dominance display in slow motion.
The chimps have been crazy all day. Burrito can become very sexually aroused when the girls have their swellings, particularly when all three girls who cycle are in estrus at the same time. But because he was raised by humans (like most entertainment and research chimpanzees), he doesn’t exhibit normal sexual behavior. The result is a lot of tension, a lot of frustration, and a whole lot of chaos.
Jamie stepped out of the playroom during the afternoon to release some of that tension in the form of a dominance display. Displays are partly under conscious control and partly not. In this case, it seemed clear to me that Jamie climbed to the top of the platform with the intention of displaying. But at the same time she wasn’t fully in control of the display. We often liken displays in this way to sneezes. You know when you have to sneeze but you just can’t? And you can’t do anything else until the sensation either dissipates or culminates in a sneeze? That’s what displays can seem like for chimpanzees. Jamie stood on that platform for three minutes, rocking back and forth, softly pant hooting, and then repositioning and hooting some more, until she finally got everything out in a two-second display. When she was finished, she went about her business as if nothing had happened.
I think we’ll all be a lot happier in a few days when Burrito can start to focus on other things…
Displaying
In her book In the Shadow of Man, Jane Goodall wrote about a chimpanzee named Mike at Gombe who used a clever device to quickly rise in the hierarchy of his group.
Here’s an excerpt from her book, which I found on this webpage:
Mike’s rise to the number one or top-ranking position in the chimpanzee community was both interesting and spectacular. In 1963 Mike had ranked almost bottom in the adult male dominance hierarchy. He had been the last to gain access to bananas, and had been threatened and actually attacked by almost every other adult male. At one time he even had appeared almost bald from losing so many handfuls of hair during aggressive incidents with his fellow apes. One day at camp, all at once Mike calmly walked over to our tent and took hold of an empty kerosene can by the handle. Then he picked up a second can and, walking upright, returned to the place where he had been sitting. Armed with his two cans Mike stared toward the other males. After a few minutes he began to rock from side to side. At first the movement was almost imperceptible, but Hugo and I were watching him closely. Gradually, he rocked more vigorously, his hair slowly began to stand erect, and then, softly at first, he started a series of pant-hoots. As he called, Mike got to his feet and suddenly he was off, charging toward the group of males, hitting the two cans ahead of him. The cans, together with Mike’s crescendo of hooting, made the most appalling racket: no wonder the erstwhile peaceful males rushed out of the way. Mike and his cans vanished down a track, and after a few moments there was silence. Some of the males reassembled and resumed their interrupted grooming session, but the others stood around somewhat apprehensively. After a short interval that low-pitched hooting began again, followed almost immediately by the appearance of the two rackety cans with Mike close behind them. Straight for the other males, he charged, and once more they fled. This time, even before the group could reassemble, Mike set off again; but he made straight for Goliath – and even he hastened out of his way like all the others. Then Mike stopped and sat, all his hair on end, breathing hard. His eyes glared ahead and his lower lip was hanging slightly down so that the pink inside showed brightly and gave him a wild appearance.
Mike’s actions on that day allowed the other chimpanzees, including Goliath, the leader of the group, to see him as a force to be reckoned with – Mike’s use of the cans that made an unfamiliar and very loud, intimidating sound in his display was nothing short of brilliant.
Chimpanzees in captivity have access to many man-made objects that make impressive sounds, and they too demonstrate forethought in the objects that they use during displaying.
Today, when the chimpanzees were given access to Young’s Hill, their outdoor habitat, for their lunch forage, Burrito headed for the triangular structure that we call Negra’s cabin. The cabin has lexan panels that can be hit and kicked to cause a loud noise in the otherwise quiet of the hill.
I imagine it feels pretty good too:
This one is blurry, but you can make out Burrito’s open mouth as he was ending his pant-hoot in a scream:
The display was a little lost on the other chimps, who just went about their business – they’ve heard that one before.
Foxie:
Missy:
Jamie and Negra:
Jody:
I didn’t get a photo of Annie – she was very efficient with her foraging and quickly returned to the cooler environment of the greenhouse.
Humans have their own ways of “displaying,” but sometimes I wonder if it would be helpful if we periodically displayed in the same way that chimps do. Perhaps you can try it this weekend – find something that makes a lot of noise, bang or kick it like you mean it, and let out a tremendous yell. Maybe you won’t raise in the ranks of the hierarchy among your friends, but I imagine you’ll feel a sense of released tension afterwards.
Jamie and her barrel
One of my favorite stories from Jane Goodall’s book In the Shadow of Man was the story of Mike.
Mike was a small, low-ranking male who was continually threatened and attacked by higher ranking chimpanzees until the day he discovered a pair of empty kerosene cans at the research camp. By banging the cans together, Mike’s displays made a sound that none of the other chimpanzees had heard before. Imagine hearing the clashing and booming of metal on metal, when even the toughest chimpanzees were stuck shaking branches and throwing rocks. Mike may not have had the size and strength of Goliath or David Graybeard but he was clever – clever enough to rise to alpha male and remain there for six years after his first kerosene can display.
I see a lot of Mike in Jamie. While Jamie is by no means small, she clearly knows how to use objects in her displays to her advantage. While Burrito runs around clapping his hands, Jamie shows him how it’s done.
Blanket fort fun
This morning we put a bunch of barrels together and made a blanket fort, with all the toys inside of the fort. Not surprisingly, Jamie was interested in checking things out.
A different perspective
Our blog is biased. When you watch our videos, you are likely to see the chimps eating, playing, making nests, or using enrichment. Our blog posts are based on impromptu recordings of the daily goings on here, and these are the things that tend to catch our eye.
You are less likely to see the chimps spitting at us, poking us, or fighting with each other. These things do happen (on a daily basis), but they are much harder to capture on film. So here’s a look at the other (healthy and perfectly normal) side of chimps. It’s not always easy to be a caregiver, but it’s always interesting!
