Although many have reported witnessing chimpanzee tool use on a level of Stone Age humans, chimps do not actually have this level of ability inately. Since they can’t say “I’m really scared” they use all the nonverbal cues to let everyone around them know. Now, refreshingly, a new study clearly demonstrates that chimpanzees have not entered the Stone Age. Notice how Annie is showing all of her teeth:Ĭhimpanzees rely so much on nonverbal behaviors (actually-so do humans, it’s just that we talk so much you don’t always notice the nonverbal stuff) so it’s really important to send social cues to convey what the context is. (Reynolds, 1967:82) During such a display, the chimp charges flat out across the ground, slapping his hands, and stamping his feet. Although females sometimes display this behaviour, especially high ranking, confident females, it is typically a male performance. He didnt see her opening any nuts with it, but he heard her hammering. Another example of chimpanzee aggression is the charging display. Here’s an example of a fear grimace during a conflict from a few years ago. animal was a human or a beast.7 Chimpanzee ethnography would appear al. I am very passionate about helping all of you help them! So in the future, try to avoid buying media that exploits chimpanzees and definitely subscribe to the Eyes on Apes Take Action alerts so you will know when there’s something you can help out with. I quickly learned that there’s a reason we call it a fear grimace-my first time seeing a chimpanzee conflict was when I truly knew that chimpanzees do not smile with happiness the same way we do.įrom that moment on, I decided that I wanted to help educate others about what I had learned that day, and now I am very fortunate to be working not only as a caregiver at CSNW but also the advocacy coordinator for the sanctuary. I was upset with the fact that I had contributed to the industry that threatens and abuses chimpanzees in order to get that “funny” expression. I knew I had laughed at commercials with “smiling” chimpanzees, gone to movies and even bought birthday cards because they were funny to me. When they are afraid or when they are trying to be intimidating, they will show all their top teeth and do what we call a “fear grimace.” It felt pretty silly to do, but they explained that a human smile is seen as a threatening expression to chimpanzees. Papo -Hand-Painted - Figurine -Wild Animal Kingdom - Chimpanzee and Baby -50194 -Collectible - for Children - Suitable for Boys and Girls- from 3 Years Old. We tried a “chimpanzee smile” by covering our top teeth and showing our bottom teeth. This sounded so strange to me at the time. I went to a presentation before visiting the chimps that I eventually worked for at the (now former) CHCI, and they explained that when we were around the chimpanzees we needed to cover our top teeth.

One of the very first things I learned about chimpanzees when I started working in this field was how they smile.

Chimpanzee hand submission