Scoop on Primates

As is the tradition in many zoos and sanctuaries, we distributed Christmas boxes filled with shredded paper and some treat items to small primates at the place where I have been volunteering for many years . "What is the point?" - will you ask - "animals, do not know the meaning of Christmas." True.  They don't, but keepers have a duty to ensure animals in their care are busy. They must provide some enrichment to their lives in captivity and the gift boxes are an opportunity to forage for treat items. Foraging is a natural behavior in the wild. Figuring out how to unwrap and open a box provides primates with an opportunity to use their brains and hands.  It is an exciting moment.  All observe carefully as volunteers place the boxes in their enclosures.  They get excited. They know it is for them. No sooner is the catch cage open than they each rush and grab a box. They bring it to a corner where their mates will not disturb them and start the grand ceremon...

Cheek pouches are pockets between the jaw and the cheek used to temporarily store food.  Many rodents, marsupials and monkeys have them. Apes and New World monkeys do not have cheek pouches. Old World monkeys have cheek pouches but do not use them with the same frequency.  For instance, baboons in the wild don't seem to use their cheek pouches as much as they do in captivity. It was long believed that cheek pouches were the result of an adaptation to ground foraging, to store food in high risk situation while on the ground and consume it later high in a tree, however Ciochon and Feagle argue that cercopithecines who live mostly arboreal have the largest cheek pouches. ( Primate Evolution and Human Origins ). Unlike those of rodents, primates' cheek pouches secrete large quantities of amylase - which converts starches into sugar.  In her book " Primate Behavioral Ecology ",   Karen Strier writes: " this adaptation for digesting unrip fruits, which are o...

Humans and great apes seem to be the only creatures deprived of a tail. Yet, our coccyx is what scientists call a “vestigial” organ. It doesn’t serve any purpose but it is there. As Darwin writes in his Origin of Species: “Rudimentary organs may be compared with the letters in a word, still retained in the spelling, but become useless in the pronunciation, but which serve as a clue for its derivation.” In short, the fact we don’t have a tail doesn’t exclude the possibility that one of our distant ancestors had one. So, what is a tail for? For some, it is a built-in fly swatter – like cows in the field; for others a navigation tool like fish; for many a means to keep their balance and for others a way to communicate. When you come home, I am sure your dog greets you by jumping around with vigorous tail wagging – that is, if you are lucky enough to have one. Scientists at the University of Bari, Italy, have been studying tail wagging and its meaning for quite some time. The res...

How we treat great apes (and other animals for that matter) is a question that has been gaining momentum the last few years. Organizations like The Non-Human Rights Project argue that a legal status, other than that of "property" should be granted to great apes in particular. I could not agree more.  Animals are not objects and should not be considered as such by the law, no matter which country they live in. We do know that animals (from mice to apes) have feelings and experience empathy ** (see references below) - so how can we justify trading them as mere junk? The question is even more pertinent when it comes to the ethical treatment of great apes in facilities using them for the greater good - (think medical research).  Progress has been made and it seems that we (humans) are now moving towards a consensus that medical research should move away from animal testing where other solutions apply.  However, some argue that computer simulation, in vitro testing cann...

Gorillas are endangered and your children may never see one alive.  This is why the event that just took place in London is so encouraging.  Who would have thought a bunch of runners could raise funds and awareness for gorillas when the world is going through so many trials and there are so many things to worry about.  Yet, these runners were able to raise the not so shabby sum of one hundred thousand pounds! Read the full article in the Irish Independent  here. **** More gorilla news… Kiki a seven year old epileptic gorilla was transferred from her home in Germany to the Antwerp zoo where she will find some much needed quiet and rest.  She is being integrated slowly into her new group. For more information read the full article in Flanders Today . **** Some hope for Bua Noi (Little Lotus) a female gorilla who has been exhibited in a high rise zoo in Bangkok since 1987.  It is now a well known fact that great apes (but really all primates) a...

While for many years researchers focused on teaching great apes how to learn our language, through sign or symbols, Dr Catherine Hobaiter from the University of St Andrews in Scotland just published an article in the journal Current Biology. She expands on her research into chimpanzee communication and says that wild chimpanzees are able to communicate very specific messages to one another using specific gestures. For instance, offering a particular part of the body to another chimpanzee is a request to be groomed; whereas tearing strips from a leaf indicates a chimpanzee is showing sexual interest in another individual. The study findings are based on the analysis of numerous videos made while the research team was following chimps in Uganda. While we are not quite ready yet to understand the subtleties of chimpanzee gestures and partake in comprehensive conversations with our next of kin, it is great news. You can consult the BBC article for more details. Along the same line,...