People often mistake the white hair around a chimpanzee’s mouth and chin for a sign of old age. This “beard”, however, is part of a chimpanzee’s normal coloration and is generally present at birth.
But many chimpanzees do go gray as they get older. Over the last ten years, we’ve watched Foxie’s patches of gray hair proliferate into a “salt and pepper” look, most notably on her arms.
As my own gray hairs have also begun to proliferate, I prefer to think of it as a distinguished look.
