CHIMPS FAMILY 1

Summary

At Burgers' Zoo in Arnhem, Netherlands, a unique experiment began in 1971, assembling one of the largest groups of chimpanzees to study their social interactions and behavior. This fascinating setup, which replaced traditional bars and fences with natural moats since chimps cannot swim, has allowed the chimpanzee colony to thrive and grow. Over the years, the group of chimps has been meticulously observed by researchers and students, leading to significant behavioral insights published by ethologists like Otto Adang and Frans de Waal.

Highlights

• The chimpanzees at Burgers' Zoo in Arnhem live in a 2.5-acre area with a moat instead of fences. 🏞️
• A total of 26 chimpanzees currently reside in the zoo, with 13 born since the group's formation. 👶
• Chimpanzees exhibit a range of behaviors managed by their social structure, including play and tool use. 🛠️
• Ethologist Otto Adang studies young chimps' behavior, contributing valuable insights into primate sociology. 📚
• Chimpanzees display individual characteristics and preferences, much like humans. 🌟

Key Takeaways

• The Burgers' Zoo experiment has created a unique environment for chimpanzees to thrive and social behavior to be studied. 🐒
• Chimpanzees at the zoo use innovative methods to interact with their environment, showcasing their intelligence in tool-use. 🧠
• The complex social structures of chimpanzees reflect those of humans, highlighting individual personalities and hierarchies. 🌍

Overview

At Burgers' Zoo in Arnhem, the 1971 experiment of assembling chimpanzees into a single tribe has become an extraordinary window into the lives of these primates. Researchers and the public alike witness a fascinating display of chimps' social interactions, viewed safely across a non-swimmable moat. This setup simulates a natural habitat, free from bars or iron fences, allowing the chimps to roam and interact openly.

The daily life of these chimps is recorded meticulously by ethologists, like Otto Adang, who closely examines their behavior. From sipping water with customized tools to playful interactions among young chimps, the colony is a testament to their intelligence and adaptability. Notable publications, such as 'Chimpanzee Politics' by Frans de Waal, further explore these dynamics.

As the chimps employ their dexterity to navigate challenges, like accessing food beyond electrified wires, they reveal a level of problem-solving that mirrors human ingenuity. Each chimpanzee has its role and status within the community, from the matriarch Mama to the ambitious young stars, reflecting the rich and complex social fabric akin to human societies.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Experiment Initiation The chapter provides an introduction to the subject matter, setting the scene at Burger's Zoo in Arham, Holland.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Chimpanzee Territory and Diet The chapter titled 'Chimpanzee Territory and Diet' begins with the context of a unique experiment started in 1971, where a zoo assembled a significant number of chimpanzees. The purpose of this assembling was to observe whether these chimpanzees could cohabitate and what insights this scenario could provide to scientists and the public. This experiment was unprecedented in its scale, providing a new opportunity to study chimpanzee behavior and interactions within a controlled environment.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Protection of Trees and Human Observation The chapter discusses a territory that covers about 2 and 1/2 acres, which is surrounded by a moat instead of bars or iron fences. This design choice is made because chimpanzees cannot swim, thus providing a natural barrier. The layout allows for mutual observation between humans and the chimpanzees, highlighting an interaction where both species can observe each other in a relatively natural setting.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Otto Adang's Research on Chimp Behavior A total of 13 young chimpanzees have been born over the years, bringing the group size to 26 individuals.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Chimpanzee Names and Hierarchy The chapter titled 'Chimpanzee Names and Hierarchy' discusses the feeding habits of chimpanzees. Despite being fed twice a day in their sleeping quarters, chimpanzees have a strong appetite for fresh green leaves and bark. This appetite poses a threat to the trees around them, as many trees end up stripped bare quickly due to their feeding behavior.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Differences and Behaviors of Chimps The chapter explores the methods to prevent certain behaviors of chimps, specifically by using shock wire to enclose trees at ground level. This prevents them from climbing and stops certain actions deemed undesirable. Additionally, it discusses the fascination humans have with apes due to their similarities to us, captivating our attention for hours.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Baby Chimps and Maternal Care Ethologist Otto Adang, a specialist in animal behavior, and his students have spent years systematically observing and recording the behavior of chimps. The work has likely contributed valuable insights into the understanding of maternal care among baby chimps.
• 04:00 - 05:30: Chimpanzee Tool Use "Chimpanzee Tool Use" explores the behavior of a unique colony of chimpanzees, specifically focusing on the interactions between young chimps. The chapter details the playful yet strategic interactions, such as when a chimp named Tan takes hold of another chimp, Spin's arm, and despite Spin's attempts to free herself, both show 'play face' as they continue to engage in a social dance around one another. The chapter highlights how these behaviors are crucial to understanding chimpanzee politics and social structures.
• 05:30 - 07:00: Chimpanzee Social Dynamics and Challenges This chapter delves into the social dynamics and challenges among chimpanzees. It illustrates a scenario from 2008, involving a chimpanzee named Spin freeing herself and rolling around, as T follows her quietly. The text introduces Mama, the oldest and most significant female in the tribe, and provides some playful commentary about Spin's name, implying her spider-like appearance.

CHIMPS FAMILY 1 Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] this is Burger's zoo in Arham [Music] Holland
• 00:30 - 01:00 [Music] in 1971 a unique experiment was started here the result gave scientists something valuable to study and the public something fascinating to [Music] watch no Zoo had ever before assembled so many chimpanzees with a view to seeing if they could live together and how
• 01:00 - 01:30 this is their territory it's about 2 and 1/2 acres no bars or iron fences they're surrounded by a moat because chimpanzees cannot [Music] swim we can watch them and they can watch
• 01:30 - 02:00 us over the years 13 new Young chimps have been born here so the group now numbers 26
• 02:00 - 02:30 they are fed morning and evening in their sleeping quarters but they still have a voracious appetite for fresh green leaves they're equally fond of eating the bark so no tree was safe from them in no time many of the trees were stripped bare down to the naked wood
• 02:30 - 03:00 there was only one way to prevent this by enclosing the trees at ground level with shock wire that stopped them climbing shock chire deserves respect human beings can spend hours watching monkeys probably because especially with Apes we see something of ourselves in them
• 03:00 - 03:30 and vice versa who knows besides the visitors there are other people watching these Apes the ethologist Otto adang he's a biologist who specializes in animal behavior and he's at work here with his students for many years the chimp's behavior has been systematically observed and recorded France dval wrote
• 03:30 - 04:00 a remarkable book about this unique colony called chimpanzee politics uto adang concentrates on the young chimp's Behavior this is how he works 19 19 minutes 52 tan takes hold of spin's arm tan pulls the arm of spin spin tries to wrench herself free both tazan and spin show play face they turn around one another
• 04:00 - 04:30 at 2008 spin frees herself T rolls around spin walks away T follows her very quietly stop at 2018 all the chimpanzees are given a name this is Mama she's the oldest and most important female in the tribe that's spin that means spider and here she looks like one
• 04:30 - 05:00 her son is called Soo now she's called P or pimple because of the pimple on her cheek and her baby's name is ponga this is nipple another appropriate name and her child Turza and here's her oldest son Taren she's called cro or crooked she suffers from a prolapse
• 05:00 - 05:30 and here's Henny with Hoya now for the men top of the social ladder is Nikki he's the chief here's number two Jerome he used to be number one but he was deposed by Nikki and this one you recognize him by his white beard is dandy he's the coming man when you watch them day in day out you come to realize that chimpanzees are
• 05:30 - 06:00 quite distinguishable from each other experts say there's as much difference between one chimp and another as there is between one human being and another this becomes evident if you look at their portraits one after the other let's begin with the females Mama gorilla Jimmy Blacky Amber and Henny the men Nikki J Rome and dandy and then the
• 06:00 - 06:30 young men Walter Jonas Alonso and here's young Monique the daughter of mama of course they not only look different they have quite different ways of behavior drinking water for instance a lot of them do it like Nikki she does it her way keeping close to the water others prefer to sit upright
• 06:30 - 07:00 he's chewed the end of a stick to make a brush of it so he can suck the water up sometimes the isolation caps fall off the shock wire and that makes an ideal cup it's his own invention it works even better with a bigger cap but uh bad luck on wal there's a hole in
• 07:00 - 07:30 it so this is how Jonas does it so the shock wire has one thing in its favor one thing chimps can't stand is rain but rain has its uses though
• 07:30 - 08:00 when it's not too windy the baby chimp stays close to its mother for about 4 years
• 08:00 - 08:30 quite often she carries it on her back but chiefly around the stomach the baby has to cling On Tight by its hands and feet in slow motion you can see how the baby is watching everything Mama watches
• 08:30 - 09:00 in reality it goes like this six-year-old Monique's practicing being mother with a three-year-old just like a real mother but Monique still got about six years to go before she could become a mother herself
• 09:00 - 09:30 meanwhile a child must learn to stand on its own feet up get to move on
• 09:30 - 10:00 that's how they learn to find their own way young chimps go on drinking mother's milk till they're about four mother chimps are are very
• 10:00 - 10:30 Vigilant any sign of danger or shock protection when the baby's thirsty the mother stays close by that water's dangerous you can't swim so mother keeps an eye on him this way he's quite
• 10:30 - 11:00 safe now she can let him go uh-uh he's gone back again gymnastics are not dangerous providing you keep close to the ground but once up in the the trees
• 11:00 - 11:30 mother's at hand when it comes to a chase mother can always hold the pursuer off and if it comes to blows she takes him by the Scruff of his neck strong men like Jerome enjoy playing with the children but mother is on the alert
• 11:30 - 12:00 and mamar too better perhaps to take him out of Jerome's reach what Jonas is doing with spider's baby goes beyond playing games
• 12:00 - 12:30 [Music] one chimp who's allowed to play with other people's children is crooked for many of them she's like an Auntie an auntie who's full of ideas for
• 12:30 - 13:00 nice new games but for Fun and Games mother's best
• 13:00 - 13:30 [Music] for
• 13:30 - 14:00 and who love each other more than mama and Monique Monique and Mama using an isolation cap to drink water is an example of how they use tools Walter's carrying a tool
• 14:00 - 14:30 tool like all chimps water is partial to fresh green leaves the problem is how to bypass the shock wire she's too small to manage it but not
• 14:30 - 15:00 Walter Jonas having a go this way all that way Wild chimpan we filmed in Africa
• 15:00 - 15:30 know all about tool use as well they're using a stick to catch ants and the youngsters ape their parents
• 15:30 - 16:00 [Music] back in arim on Sundays The Chimps get an extra helping of fresh salad it goes down well with the grown-ups but the children had better keep out of the way unless they share mother's portion like Monique and Mama
• 16:00 - 16:30 or Rose and gorilla all that's left for Jonas is some lettuce that's fallen in the water if he can get hold of it but you'll need a longer stick than that
• 16:30 - 17:00 and three short sticks do not make a long the chief has no problem but Jonas has and he's getting irritated and here comes competition
• 17:00 - 17:30 ah Jonas has found a longer stick but it sailed away pity only after Dandy has finished his last
• 17:30 - 18:00 lettuce leaves watched by the others has Jonas's lettuce finally drifted towards the shore further up food at last but for his young brother there's nothing left and he can't bear to watch
• 18:00 - 18:30 Walters suddenly taking an interest in loose lying Tree Trunks and stumps he's got something in mind while tarzen has his own way of handling the shock wire Walter is looking for a tree trunk he can
• 18:30 - 19:00 move Tarzan's log would present no problem it rolls easily unlike the stump that Walter's chosen where's he taking it now Walter you see had worked out that none of the trees has a side branch that stick sticks out just over the
• 19:00 - 19:30 shocka none that is except this one that was what Walter was heading for with his stump again it's Walter who's found a way of beating the shock chire and he's discovered too that rolling is easier than dragging
• 19:30 - 20:00 and there's the tree with a side branch you need to be await lifter for this job so Walter has to stop and get his breath back whenever anything's going on Mama will be there now let's see if it stays upright
• 20:00 - 20:30 no try again and now up we go now the stump is on the right side of the tree can he get it by without touching the shock wire yes done
• 20:30 - 21:00 it now Walter's working out the distance he should be from the tree once he gets it upright here then and he's got to jump to there now let's get this thing on its end and see if it stays put this time
• 21:00 - 21:30 no down again Walter knows it's risky to jump off that stump over the wire if that stump isn't standing firmly so hea holds the thing in place to let Jonas have a try no Jonas finds the distance too great he won't dare so Walter takes over
• 21:30 - 22:00 again to jump or not to jump decisions decisions he was right to hesitate Jonas tries to lever it up no way Walter gives it one last
• 22:00 - 22:30 chance and he won't have anything more to do with that thing and ours pushing and pulling and all for nothing better luck next time whatever became of that stump that Taren had Monique's got hold of it
• 22:30 - 23:00 she wants to go up in the world too whatever for well just for fun and a bit later Taren adds a stick to
• 23:00 - 23:30 it within the group chimpanzees observe closely the social scale right from the start mama was the female who deserved the most respect and among the men for the last 6 years the chief is Nikki and he makes it quite clear to everybody
• 23:30 - 24:00 that he's in charge in Africa in the wild his counterpart imposes his authority in the same [Laughter] way w