A tourist recently asked me the following question: “After more than five months of observing chimpanzees, do they still surprise you?”

(I know this is a cheesy way to begin an entry, but it actually happened, and before he even finished I knew the answer: “Yes, bila shaka” [Without a doubt].)

Follow up:

Because the behaviors of chimpanzees are so complex—and because some of the complex behaviors are very subtle—I am constantly observing new things both big and small. The day I was asked that question I had watched Tanga groom Tabora (her 3-year-old daughter) with Tom (her 8-year-old son) lying right next to them.

At the time, Tabora was getting “rotisseried” around while Tanga was grooming her, and the youngster ended up with a large dried leaf stuck to her forehead. Whether it was because Tom was being a helpful older brother or because he was just bored, it was still fascinating to watch Tom very dexterously use his foot to remove the leaf from Tabora’s face and then resume resting.

Something else I was surprised to see was Fanni sporting two of her daughters—Fadhila (a 2-year-old) and Familia (a 5 year-old)—on her back as she traveled. Needless to say, Fanni did not travel far with them before quickly unloading Familia. I was fairly surprised by Familia’s behavior because I had thought of her as extremely independent for her age. However, during that same day she even tried to nurse from her mother, and the whole time I was impressed by Fanni’s level of tolerance and comfort.

The biggest surprise I had recently was witnessing an altercation between Frodo and some females. Gaia displayed at Schweini, both of which have infants that are less than a year old. Frodo then displayed and charged at both females. Somehow through the frenzy Frodo ended up with Gaia’s 3-month-old baby in his arms.

I was amazed with how gentle Frodo appeared to be with Gaia’s baby. He was cradling the baby with one arm and it even looked like the infant tried to nurse from Frodo. Even when Frodo continued to display at the females it seem that he was careful not to injure the infant. After a few minutes of displays and a lot of vocalizations, Gaia was able to successfully retrieve her baby from Frodo. Aside from most likely being a little freaked-out, the baby seemed unharmed.

Matt Heintz