Right now the end of the dry season is in sight. In Gombe, the dry season lasts from June–November, and the wet season is December–May. While different fruits are continuously coming into season and then fading away, during this part of the dry season it seems like the chimpanzees have to search extra hard to find their daily meals. The plus side is that recently the chimpanzees have been traveling in large groups, so it has been easy for me to find infants to observe. The downside is that their search for food has often involved traveling long distances on a daily basis, something my legs are not always a fan of.

Follow up:

The chimpanzees are not just wandering aimlessly throughout the forest. They travel on a directed path. Two recent events that highlight this are occurrences of short-term planning by Tanga and Sandi. Chimpanzees commonly use tools—modified pieces of branches and vines—to fish for termites and ants. Recently, I saw both Tanga and Sandi select a tool and then proceed to walk for an additional two minutes before arriving at a termite mound (for Tanga) and ant nest (for Sandi). The insect nests were not in sight when the females first selected a tool to carry, so I assume that the chimpanzees were planning for the future. Although it was only two minutes, I found this example of short-term planning to be very impressive.

Another recent incident that I find blogworthy also occurred at a termite mound. An adult female, Schweini, was termite fishing when her 11-month-old daughter, Safi, began to scream a few feet away from her. Schweini quickly dropped her fishing tool and scooped up Safi into her arms. To help calm Safi down, Schweini began to use her foot to gently rock Safi as she held her. This was the first time I have observed this type of behavior, but it was very similar to watching a human mother rock her crying infant. I am not sure if this technique would work for me, but in my attempt to learn parenting skills from the chimpanzees I will have to give this a try later on.

Matt Heintz