Chimpanzees and Grieving

Name Date

  Chimpanzee behavior is very similar to human behaviors. Primatologists have been studying the emotions of chimpanzees to give us clues about the behavior of our early ancestors. Recently, anthropologists and primatologists are studying the chimps’ responses to death.

Grief is an emotion displayed only by humans, but recent studies implicate that chimps can express grief, making them share more emotions with humans, which we thought were exclusive to mankind.

My Thesis   In this presentation I will

discuss the emerging behaviors of chimps that coincide with mankind. New behaviors and emotions, such as grief, seem to make the link shorter between chimpanzees and humans. How human-like are chimps, or how chimp-like are we? I chose this topic because often in anthropology we look at the past. But it’s equally important to look at the present. Biological anthropology is seeing new behaviors in chimps, which can give us insight about ourselves and our past.

Mother-Infant Bond

 The mother infant bond between chimpanzees is very similar to the mother infant bond in humans. Since chimpanzees have a larger brain, infants take longer to mature and reach adulthood. The mother watches over them for years, until the child has learned how to carry themselves.

How this bond is seen in regards to death

 Many mother chimps have been seen carrying around their deceased young. This raises many questions.

 Are the mothers aware their child is dead?  Do chimpanzees understand death?  Is this a grieving process/ do chimpanzees

experience and express grief?

Mother chimp carrying around the mummified remains of her child

  Chimps already express a wide range of emotions familiar to humans. They can be happy (laughter), angry, jealous, compassionate, and show affection. Chimps also have a concept of self, which means they are aware of who they are and their role in society. They can recognize themselves in a mirror, which many other animals and primates can not do.

Altruistic Acts

  Chimps are known to perform altruistic acts within their communities. They take care of one another for the community’s sake, and not often their own. Even when no reward is offered and effort is required, chimps often go out of their way to help one another. This chimp bottle feeds a baby

tiger. An act of altruism not typically seen between species

Child’s response to mother’s death

 After her Mother Pansy died, Rosie, Pansy’s daughter, and other chimps in the community started acting differently.

 Pansy moved to Rosie’s nest to die. A make chimp named Chippy charged at the corpse of Pansy several times, as if to see if she was sleeping. The next morning, Chippy continued to do so. One speculation could be that Chippy’s response to Pansy’s death was anger or denial. Stages of grief that humans experience.

 Rosie and other chimps continued checking up on the body of Pansy. Shaking her arm after she had passed, as well stroking the arms of her mother in her final moments. The following days, the chimps were sullen and had a loss of appetite. Rosie’s sleep pattern was broken and unusual compared to her normal sleep pattern. Even when Pansy’s body was removed, none of the chimps would sleep in the enclosure where she died.

Video of Rosie and other Chimps examining Pansy’s body

 http://bcove.me/14fajz4a

Overview

 “Extended carrying” of deceased infants by mothers.

 Reaction of chimps to a dead community member or loved one.

 How known behaviors, like altruism and concept of self, give us clues to analyze chimpanzees’ reaction to death.

Connections/Explanations as to if chimps really experience grief  In regard to humans, objects of the deceased

are typically held on to, out of sentimental value and can be hard to let go of. Mother chimpanzees may know that their children are dead, but aren’t able to physically detach yet.

 Chimps and humans display multiple stages of grief (denial, anger, acceptance, etc.)

 Chimps have a concept of self. If that is proven so, do they also have a concept of others and death?

Connections Continued

  Studies new and very open ended. Are chimps simply just curious about death, or do they understand it, and in fact, mourn their dead? Are their actions acts of delusion or depression?

  We can not say for certain that chimpanzees mourn their dead, but their grieving behaviors are very similar to that of humans. Further research may weaken the differences between humans and chimps. There’s only a 1% difference in our DNA, the new behaviors of chimps can lead to remarkable breakthroughs and discoveries in anthropology, and perhaps, give us a little more insight to our similarities with chimps, rather than differences.

Jane Goodall and Chimpanzee friend

References Biro, D., Hiyashi, M., Humle, T., Koops, K., Matsuzawa, T., Sousa,

S.(2010,April 27). Chimpanzee mothers at Bossou, Guinea carry the

mummified remains of their dead infants. Current Biology, 20 (8).

Harmon, K. (2010, April 27). Do chimpanzees understand death?

Scientific American.

Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics (2011, January 27). Do

chimpanzees mourn their dead infants?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved

December 6, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com-

/releases/2011/01/110127160441.htm

O’Malley, R.C., Piel, A.K., Stewart, F.A., (2012, Jan.) Responses of

chimpanzees to a recently dead community member at Gombe

National Park, Tanzania. American Journal of Primatology, 74 (1), 1-7.

Public Library of Science (2007, June 25). Human-like Altruism Shown In

Chimpanzees.ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from

http://www.sciencedaily.com- /releases/2007/06/070625085134.htm

Viegas, J. (2010, April 26). Chimps confront death in human-like ways.

Retrieved December 5, 2011, from,

http://news.discovery.com/animals/chimpanzee-death-dying-behavior.html