Introduction: Chimpanzees are part of the non-human primate group. Though we share a common ancestor, evolution has pushed us in different directions. However this common ancestor causes humans to be curious about these creatures. As discussed in Jane Goodall’s video Among the Wild Chimpanzees we were once considered to be human because of our use of tools but once we observed these non-human primates using tools, this perception was changed forever. The question now at hand is if having the chimpanzees that we study in captivity makes a difference between studying wild chimps. These interesting creatures can be found naturally in the rainforests of Africa. Development of tool use: “Tool use is rare in animals, and the chimpanzees stand out as the most proficient tool users besides humans” (Boesh, Boesch-Achermann18). Some debate has taken place between researchers regarding how these chimpanzees learn to use these tools and whether or not there is a difference between wild chimps and captive chimp’s tool use. Some theories say that chimps do not actively teach or are taught, but rather learn by observation, trial, and error; as stated in the article Thinking Like a Chimpanzee by Jon Cohen. This article also suggests that some reaserchers do believe that chimps do poses the capability to be taught and understand what they are learning. Tool manufacturing: Chimps use tools in numerous ways to retrieve food. These include stone tools for the cracking of nuts and thin twigs for termite fishing as discussed in both the articles Mommy Training by Nick Atkins and Tool Use in Wild Chimpanzees: New Light From Dark Forests by Hedwige Boesch-Achermann and Christophe Boesch. Both of these articles discusss the use of tool use among chimpan... ... middle of paper ... ... Academic OneFile. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. Boesch-Achermann, Hedwige, and Christophe Boesch. "Tool Use In Wild Chimpanzees: New Light From Dark Forests." Current Directions In Psychological Science (Wiley-Blackwell) 2.1 (1993): 18-21. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. Celli, Maura L., Satoshi Hirata, and Masaki Tomonaga. "Socioecological Influences On Tool Use In Captive Chimpanzees." International Journal Of Primatology25.6 (2004): 1267-1281. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. Cohen, Jon. "Thinking Like A Chimpanzee." Smithsonian 41.5 (2010): 50. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. Hopkins, W. D., et al. "Handedness For Tool Use In Captive Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes): Sex Differences, Performance, Heritability And Comparison To The Wild." Behaviour 146.11 (2009): 1463. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
I observed chimpanzees in the Kimberly-Clark Chimpanzee Forest exhibit at the Dallas zoo. These African apes, like humans, are hominoids and fall into the larger category of catarrhines. Their scientific classification is Pan troglodytes. There were about ten chimpanzees in that habitat. Most of them were grown adults, except two children. They were robust and had black fur. The average weight of the chimps was listed on a display to be about 115 pounds.
This article, titled Common Ground, written by Barbara Smuts, points out the main differences between humans and apes, such as our upright stance, large brains, and capacity for spoken language and abstract reasoning. However, the main point of this article is to emphasize the many similarities that apes share with us. Smuts goes into great detail about how human social and emotional tendencies are very reflective in the family of apes.
While there are noticeable by differences in social conduct between these two primates, I argue that they are extra of similar behaviors than most books have suggested. This book portrays several reasons that modern views of bonobo and chimpanzee cultures may not harmonize well with ground data. Bonobos are derived since their behavior has been defined lately than that of chimpanzees, and the likelihood that explanations of bonobo-chimpanzee differences are echoes of human male-female alterations.
Every few years, Hollywood releases a new Planet of the Ape movie, which is always a blockbuster hit. Moviegoers flock to see these movies of how apes rise together and how they are actually more intelligent than meets the eye. Most people do not know the premise behind these movies of how smart and closely related apes are to humans. This is because people probably have never taken a physical anthropology class and have not done research on apes –our closet kins. Known for his immense studies in the fields of apes and monkeys, his long term research in the behavior of chimpanzees and mountain gorillas, and his experience in the forests with the apes, the co-director of the Jane Goodall Research Center and writer of our textbook, primatologist
Primates housed in organizations like zoos and laboratories have developed catastrophic behavior; due to the lack of their natural habitat and the lose of freedom to pursue their own lives. Chimpanzees have directed themself to attempt abnormal and often revolting behavior. During their life in captivity they exibit biting themselves, drinking urine, eating feces, pating genitals, rocking, plucking hair, and fumpling niples (Birkett and Newton-Fisher). Another factor that gives chimpanzees
“Change happens by listening then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don't believe is right.” Jane Goodall is one of the few people to take a closer look at the intricate nature of chimpanzees. She was born in London, England in 1934. Her first interaction with chimpanzees started at an early age when she received a doll from her parents. She received many worried complaints from her friends' parents telling her that chimpanzees were dangerous and unpredictable. Jane fell in love with the creatures. She looked the way of the island of Gambe and never turned back.
In 1996 Kevin Hunt proposed a feeding hypothesis on why bipedalism ocurred. It stated that 80% of the time chimpanzees feed, they are exhibiting a bipedal locomotion (Jacobs, 90). This occurs when chimps feed o...
108), however in the M-group, in Mahale, that the grooming hand-clasp appeared in at least one captive chimpanzee colony (Uehara, 2004, p. 108). The importance between the different types of hand-clasp grooming is crucial to determine the behaviors among cultures in primates. The objective was to test Mcgrew and colleagues’ idea that the palm-to-palm hand-clasp is custom of K-group and not of M-group (Uehara, 2004, p. 109). In some cases during the grooming the primates would stretch their arms and hold hands (palm-to-palm hand-clasp), but the primates also used other methods of grooming, such as stretching their arms and holding their wrists, or draping their arms over each other during the grooming process. (See images in (Uehara, 2004, p. 109). The study was to show whether or not those who used the grooming hand-clasp with three different partners demonstrated the same tendencies regardless of the partner (Uehara, 2004, p. 109). The results showed the majority of the K-group performed the palm-to-palm hand-clasps more often than M-group. During the observation, “the angle of the wrist in most cases concluded as either straight of flexed in approximately 91% of primates. In the Angle of
According to National Geographic, scientists have sequenced the genome factor of the chimpanzee and found that humans are 98.5% similar to the ape species. The chimpanzee is our closest relative in the animal kingdom; however, some people are not aware of our resembling traits with chimpanzees. Jane Goodall’s, In the Shadow of Man, describes some similar traits humans and chimpanzees have such as their facial expressions and emotions, use of tools, and diet.
Chimpanzees and Bonobos are very similar species of apes and they both have very similar gestures that have alike meanings. While it is not surprising that some of the gestures are the same, it is more surprising that they also have the same intention. When comparing the gestures, the ASO, or Apparently Satisfactory Outcome, is taken into consideration. The ASO is used to help figure out the meaning of the gesture by showing how the receiver of the gesture responds to the action and if the signaller is satisfied with the outcome of their response. The gestures and meanings are then compared between bonobos and chimpanzees to determine how similar their actions are to each other.
In this example, two primates were placed behind either a transparent or an opaque screen. Between these screens was a banana and I learned how a primate reacted when approached with the option if he should go for the banana when put against a dominant primate. I was impressed that they didn’t engage in a brawl over the banana, but instead used thought in regard to hierarchy. This to me, without doubt, proves once more that primates are able to produce complex behaviors that relate to humans. Thinking like this insinuates that primates as well as creatures other than humans have the ability of using
Chimpanzees are one of the most innovative species on Earth. They are one of the few species that are able to use tools. Not only that, but they can also be seen specializing tools to fit their needs in a specific situation. One such example of this tool
Apes have over and over again surpassed other primates in comprehension tests carried out in the laboratory. They are capable of reacting to stimuli in an appropriate manner. Researchers have measured intelligence in primates in a number of situations in an effort to determine the level of cognition these primates possess. Russon and Begun, researchers who have explored ape intelligence state, “In the physical domain, great apes do use tools in ways that require their grade of cognition but they devise equally complex manual techniques and solve equally complex spatial problems” (Russon and Begun 2004). Apes have the abilit...
Humans and non-human primates have many behaviors and characteristics in common. All humans and non-human primates also share physical and beha...
Humans are not the only species with the ability of making tools. Early on in her research, Jane Goodall observed an older male chimp, she called him David Greybeard. Through her observation of David, she witnessed two forms of the use of tools. The first was the use of grass as a tool to extract termites from their mounds. The second was the making of a tool by stripping the leaves off a twig, modifying it for the same purpose. When Louis Leakey heard this, he wrote her “Now we must redefine tool, redefine man, or except chimpanzees as humans” (Goodall, 2002). There is a definite correlation between man and chimps in this respect. Human culture involves learned behaviors through observation, imitation and practice, the use of tools with chimpanzees show the same ability for learned beh...