In honour of Jane Goodall's talk in my hometown of Burlington, ON, tonight, I am reposting a piece I wrote about my experience volunteering at the Chimpanzee Human Communication Institute prior to starting grad school titled: "Appearances Can Be Deceiving"
Enjoy :)
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One day when I was volunteering at the Chimpanzee Human Communication Institute in Ellensburg, Washington, where Washoe (the famous chimpanzee trained in American Sign Language) and her family live, an argument broke out between the chimps.
At the time there were 4 chimps living in the facility, in order of dominance rank: Washoe, her adopted son Loulis, Tatu, and Dar. I was in the observation area recording their independent, seemingly peaceful, behaviour for a paper project conducted by Dr. Mary Lee Jensvold when the tension broke out and chaos ensued.
The chimps were screaming loudly, jumping from platforms to the ground, and swinging on fire hoses and tires hung around the enclosure for enrichment; toys and magazines (other enrichment items) were being thrown around the air as the chimps chased each other around their enclosure. It was an intense moment and all of us humans just observed in awkward silence.
I remember everyone stopped what they were doing. A few volunteers and staff were sweeping in a nearby area closed for cleaning. But they stopped and looked down at their feet, just listening and waiting for the argument to stop. The people once talking in the outside hallway to the viewing area went silent. This ruckus the chimps were making was so powerful it felt like everyone in the building was becoming anxious and uneasy.
My heartrate sped up a few beats. This was a serious altercation I was observing.
It’s never comfortable to witness a family argument, regardless of the species. But in a brief moment of clarity during the commotion, I focused right on Washoe (the dominant female and head of the family) who was standing in one spot of the enclosure screaming (as chimps do when they vocalize) and frantically signing to the others as they jumped around her.
She was repeatedly signing: “Hug, Love” over and over and over again.
Just standing there, calling to the others, and signing “Hug, Love” “Hug, Love” “Hug, Love”
Amidst the apparent chaos and calamity of a chimpanzee argument, the dominant female was actually calling for peace!
Within a few seconds, Dar swooped past her, touched her shoulder and then stationed himself on a nearby platform. Washoe stopped signing and screaming, then everyone else settled down and the chimps went back to their quiet, independent activities.
Few experiences in my life have been as momentous as witnessing that brief and simple interaction between chimpanzees, and I never would have known anything about what was really happening between those chimps if Washoe didn’t know and use sign language to communicate in that instant.
Many people think that animals are aggressive, barbaric creatures, and certainly an argument between chimpanzees would appear this way to any human observer. Loud and chaotic, speaking a language we don’t understand, wild animals can appear threatening and dangerous. So we develop fear of them and disconnect; convince ourselves that humans are more civilized than brutish apes.
But animals are more complex than we initially see, and with a little understanding and awareness it becomes quite clear that most of the time they are just like us and we are just like them.
To learn more about Washoe and CHCI visit: http://www.cwu.edu/~cwuchci/
And read Dr. Roger Fouts AMAZING book: Next of Kin
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Can't wait to hear Dr. Goodall's talk at the Burlington Green Awards tonight.
This is an amazing opportunity Burlington! Hope to see you all out there!
Come over and say Hi :)
Tweet Follow @primejm Tweet to @primejm
Enjoy :)
---
One day when I was volunteering at the Chimpanzee Human Communication Institute in Ellensburg, Washington, where Washoe (the famous chimpanzee trained in American Sign Language) and her family live, an argument broke out between the chimps.
At the time there were 4 chimps living in the facility, in order of dominance rank: Washoe, her adopted son Loulis, Tatu, and Dar. I was in the observation area recording their independent, seemingly peaceful, behaviour for a paper project conducted by Dr. Mary Lee Jensvold when the tension broke out and chaos ensued.
The chimps were screaming loudly, jumping from platforms to the ground, and swinging on fire hoses and tires hung around the enclosure for enrichment; toys and magazines (other enrichment items) were being thrown around the air as the chimps chased each other around their enclosure. It was an intense moment and all of us humans just observed in awkward silence.
I remember everyone stopped what they were doing. A few volunteers and staff were sweeping in a nearby area closed for cleaning. But they stopped and looked down at their feet, just listening and waiting for the argument to stop. The people once talking in the outside hallway to the viewing area went silent. This ruckus the chimps were making was so powerful it felt like everyone in the building was becoming anxious and uneasy.
My heartrate sped up a few beats. This was a serious altercation I was observing.
It’s never comfortable to witness a family argument, regardless of the species. But in a brief moment of clarity during the commotion, I focused right on Washoe (the dominant female and head of the family) who was standing in one spot of the enclosure screaming (as chimps do when they vocalize) and frantically signing to the others as they jumped around her.
She was repeatedly signing: “Hug, Love” over and over and over again.
Just standing there, calling to the others, and signing “Hug, Love” “Hug, Love” “Hug, Love”
Amidst the apparent chaos and calamity of a chimpanzee argument, the dominant female was actually calling for peace!
Within a few seconds, Dar swooped past her, touched her shoulder and then stationed himself on a nearby platform. Washoe stopped signing and screaming, then everyone else settled down and the chimps went back to their quiet, independent activities.
Few experiences in my life have been as momentous as witnessing that brief and simple interaction between chimpanzees, and I never would have known anything about what was really happening between those chimps if Washoe didn’t know and use sign language to communicate in that instant.
Many people think that animals are aggressive, barbaric creatures, and certainly an argument between chimpanzees would appear this way to any human observer. Loud and chaotic, speaking a language we don’t understand, wild animals can appear threatening and dangerous. So we develop fear of them and disconnect; convince ourselves that humans are more civilized than brutish apes.
But animals are more complex than we initially see, and with a little understanding and awareness it becomes quite clear that most of the time they are just like us and we are just like them.
 |
| Washoe (~Sept 1965 – Oct 30, 2007) Picture Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washoe_(chimpanzee) |
And read Dr. Roger Fouts AMAZING book: Next of Kin
---
Can't wait to hear Dr. Goodall's talk at the Burlington Green Awards tonight.
This is an amazing opportunity Burlington! Hope to see you all out there!
Come over and say Hi :)
Tweet Follow @primejm Tweet to @primejm
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