Scoop on Primates

Who wouldn't prefer a generous guy to a rat? Obviously not chimpanzee females.  They like their man to share a bite with them once in a while and they'll never forget him for it. Males are just regular joes, they see this transaction as an investment.  I give you some meat, you give me "love". Chimpanzee males are apparently so patient, that, not only do they offer meat to sexually receptive females, but also to those who have not responded to their advances yet. They're thinking long term investment.   This has now been documented in a paper written by two primatologists from Leipzig, Germany, Cristina Gomes and Christophe Boesch. More info at the Science Now website in this article:  Chimps Trade Meat for the Chance of Sex.   You may also remember an article written by Michael Gumert (see post from January), that demonstrated a similar practice among long-tailed macaques.

Seven years after her first visit, Dr Jane Goodall will return to Boise, Idaho, to talk about conservancy at the zoo.  According to Steve Burns, the zoo Director, "charismatic animals" can help convince humans to be more careful about the environment, thereby ensuring the stability of our ecosystem and the stability of society at large. For more information, read this great interview of Dr Goodall at IdahoStateman.com . The St Louis City website also has a very interesting article relating to social unrest in Madagascar and how it can impact negatively the ecosystem there and put species. already at risk, closer to the brink of extinction, including primates such as the sifaka lemurs. More bad news, according to a recent study by renowned primatologist Birute Galdikas who addressed a large audience of students at New Mexico State University in March, orang-utans are not much longer for this world, unless we, humans, do something about it right now. Some of the steps she rec...