Scoop on Primates

Listening to Susan Savage-Rumbaugh is inspiring.  She knows bonobos. She understands them and attempts to make the rest of us see what some refuse to see. The "forgotten ape" as Frans DeWaal like to call the bonobo, is not a pervert or  a beast.  It is a gentle, beautiful, intelligent creature, able to communicate and learn tasks by watching others.    An expert at resolving conflicts in a peaceful manner. Through her studies , Savage-Rumbaugh is demonstrating that the capabilities of a species are not solely determined by biology but mainly by exposure to other cultures. In this very inspiring  video you will see bonobos writing, starting a fire, playing pac-man, grooming their baby. Bonobos are an endangered species living in the Congo.  The estimated population of bonobos in situ is around 5,000.  It was estimated to about 10,000 in 1990.

Some of you may have heard about elephant attacks against humans.  These wonderful creatures have an extremely good memory and apparently do bear grudges and have been witnessed around the world attacking humans in retaliation for taking over territory that once belonged to them. In December of 2000, a story originally published by Saoudi newspaper Al-Riyadh and picked up by other newspapers, including French Libération  , recounted the incredible attack of a car on a road linking Mecca to Taëf.  Apparently, a car drove over a hamadryas baboon and left him dead on the road.  The members of his troop waited three long days until the car came back and launched an attack against it.  One of the baboons (a leader?) screamed when the car appeared thereby starting the bout of stone throwing at the vehicle.  The driver got out safe but the windshield was shattered. This attack is very interesting - it tends to indicate that baboons are aware of death and that ...

The discovery of "Ardi" in 1994 in Ethiopia may well have been the missing link scientists had been searching for.  This week scientists revealed the result of this 15 year long study. The partial skeleton of a female Ardipithecus ramidus, nicknamed "Ardi", is estimated to be about 4.4 million years old. This hominid seems to have been the ancestor to both humans and apes.  However, evidence shows that she did not knuckle-walk but walked standing upright.  This means that our ancestors walked straight over one million years ealier than previously thought.   This changes the theory that prevailed until now - i.e. humans must have been walking on all fours.  Since apes also descend from Ardi but they knuckle-walk, this also means that knuckle-walking is an adaptation and that therefore apes evolved as much as humans did. For more information read: Discovery in Ethiopia casts light on human origins - Reuters  . Discovery of "Ardi" sheds light on hu...

This week I want to share two very cool videos. The first one shows Bonobos having a lot of fun in their enclosure.  I wouldn't be surprised if trapeze artists take inspiration from these beautiful apes.  (Drum roll) And now watch the amazing " Spinning... Bonobos  ". The second is about the 7th gorilla run that took place in London on 9/28 to raise funds to save the endangered gorilla population. Enjoy and please leave a note on the blog if you know of other events like the Gorilla Run.

Yawning is contagious.  No doubt about it.  We've all experienced it.  I even yawned back and forth with my dog until I decided to leave the room to make it stop.  I am actually yawning just writing about yawning.  It is insane! Well, great apes are not immune to this debilitating habit that seems to spring out of nowhere for no apparent reason.  We yawn when we are tired, bored, anxious and ... when others yawn. Now, thanks to a study coming out of the  Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University  we have proof that chimpanzees do too.  When shown animated cartoon chimpanzee characters yawning, the real chimps yawned in response. Some suggest that yawning may have served a purpose, like signaling all individuals within a group that it was time to sleep.  This is certainly one way of looking at it. Others, like Professor Robert Provine at the University of Maryland who spent years studying phenomena like yawni...

Do you, like many people, occasionally procrastinate and put off to tomorrow what could be done right away?  I do it regularly at the end of the month, when bills need to be paid or when the oven needs cleaning or simply when instead of studying or working I'd rather watch reruns of old shows or play fetch with my dogs. Well, it turns out that this procrastination business is not just human.  Our fellow primates experience bouts of laziness too. In a recent study by researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health near Washington DC, Dr. Barry Richmond and his team have succeeded the impossible.  They are putting lazy chimps at work and turning them into super heroes by giving them a chemical that blocks dopamine production. When I heard about it I had visions of Brave New World and human robots attached to their desks - working for nothing, never asking for vacation... For details, check out this article from the BBC News  .

The news coming from Los Angeles the last week have been particularly difficult to watch.  The wild fires have been raging across the Angeles Crest Forest putting at risk both people and animals. As some of you may have seen and heard on various news outlet, the Wildlife Waystation staff have been working hard to protect all their animal residents.   Nested in Little Tujunga Canyon in the Angeles Crest Forest, the Wildlife Waystation is in a vulnerable position against the Station Fire.  The unimaginable happened and all the animals have had to be evacuated in a record time. Moving stressed wild animals is no easy task. It is dangerous and it requires the expertise of skilled professionals.  Despite all the help provided by generous volunteers and people who care about this 30 year old institution, the Wildlife Waystation has incurred huge costs to rent equipment and temporarily relocate its animals to various institutions. The Wildlife Waystation and its resi...