Chimpanzees use distinct sounds to communicate during grooming. Grooming noises such as the lip smack, the teeth clack, and the Bronx cheer are made solely with the lips, tongue, and teeth and not the vocal tract.
Grooming
The Grooming Train
What started out as a play session between Missy and Negra (a very mellow play session I might add), quickly turned into a grooming session, once Jamie chimpanzee showed up. Soon after, Annie joined the grooming train.
Up Close and Personal
Grooming is a bonding experience for chimpanzees, and one reason is that it requires a lot of trust in one’s grooming partner. Chimps aren’t afraid to get quite personal with each other. The other day I caught Jamie very gently grooming Negra’s eyes and ears.
Overcoming Fears
As a rule, Negra does not like to be touched by humans. For over three decades, Negra lived in a research laboratory where human touch was usually painful or scary. Sometimes she seeks out touch from her caregivers at the sanctuary by pressing her back against the caging for a little massage, only to panic and threat bark at us when we actually make contact. Some of her anxiety in this area seems to have subsided over the years, but still, we are always a little amazed (and a lot honored) when she allows us to touch her.
Playful Jamie
Chimpanzees exhibit a variety of innate behaviors and vocalizations in different contexts. During play, for example, chimpanzees will often head nod to one another and laugh, which for a chimpanzee is a breathy pant with the top teeth covered by the upper lip. In grooming, chimpanzees will often lip-smack, teeth-clack, or blow raspberries. These behaviors seem to be used to communicate with other individuals that they are interacting in a certain context. Co-director Diana wrote a blog entry last year on grooming, which includes more detailed information about these behaviors and what they mean. As caregivers, we also use these behaviors and vocalizations during interactions to connect with the chimpanzees using their communication methods, which helps build rapport.
In the following video, Jamie plays with staff caregiver Elizabeth. In the beginning of the clip you can hear Elizabeth breathy panting during this tug-of-war/tickle interaction. Jamie then decided that intern Holly’s boot needed some TLC, so look closely at Jamie’s face and mouth to see her lip smacking as she grooms.
Intrepid Explorers
Hi everyone! My name is Whitney and I am filling in for Keri as a temporary staff caregiver for the chimpanzees while she is on maternity leave. I began volunteering at CSNW about two years ago, and one of my favorite things about coming here is witnessing the chimpanzees’ confidence grow.
Today was no exception. As background to this story, any time we enter part of the chimpanzees’ enclosure to clean, every staff member, intern, and volunteer present in the building must perform a series of safety checks before the room in question can be unlocked. Part of the checks involve visually identifying all seven chimpanzees in rooms other than the one we want to enter.
This morning I went to identify the chimpanzees so we could enter the playroom for cleaning, and after extensive searching I could only find two of them in the building. Lo and behold, five of the seven were way out on the hill! It took some time, but I eventually saw Burrito, Jody, Missy, Foxie, and Annie as they explored the hill, occasionally appearing between bamboo and climbing up their magnificent climbing structures. I remember that just two years ago it was a delightful surprise to see any of the Seven out exploring the hill, even close to the greenhouse, and now it seems to be a daily occurrence that they are not only on the hill but are now confident enough to explore their home far and wide.
I couldn’t get any pictures while they were out on the hill this morning, but here are a few of my favorites from this afternoon. Some grooming, some lunch, some play time with friends.
Annie (right) grooming her best friend Missy (left):
Burrito, caught in a rare playful mood (just kidding, he’s almost always in a playful mood):
Foxie grooming her foot:
Jamie, ever inventive, enjoyed her lunch at a makeshift table:
Reconciliation
Every once and a while, there’s a little more tension in the group than usual. Fights break out more often, and when they do, they result in more injuries. But chimps have a mechanism for dealing with this tension.
After a big conflict last weekend, they’ve been working hard to reestablish their relationships through grooming.
Chances are, some of the wounds they are grooming on each other are wounds they themselves inflicted.
But that’s life for a chimp. You fight, and you make up. Then, maybe, you fight again.
But you always make up.
