National Geographic: The New Chimpanzees Page #2

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Charlotte Uhlenbroek

is studying pant hoots,

the long range calls of chimps.

She follows one male all day,

recording the precise time and

circumstances of any pant hoot he makes

Her Tanzanian associate, Issa Salala,

follows another male and does the same

At the end of the day,

they will compare their notes,

to see whether they've witnessed

two sides of a conversation,

and to try and decipher its meaning.

The pant hoots are certainly

conveying some meaning.

Um, what, what I'm trying

to find out is exactly

how specific are the meanings

of these different calls.

I mean, um, does a particular pant-hoot

convey something about a food source?

Does it say, Come here boys?

Does it say I'll meet you up

in the next valley?

Or are they directed at family members

at allies, at friends?

Or are they just, generally, Anyone

that can hear me, this is my message?

We haven't got our ears tuned in.

I mean, it's like different

cultures very often,

it's difficult to hear a slightly

different, uh, pronunciation.

So, certainly, we're not hearing all

the difference out of these.

Sometimes, there's still just a

cacophony of screams out there and you

very hard push to pull them apart;

but, I'm sure the chimps can,

I'm sure they,

they know exactly what's going on.

Sometimes words won't suffice.

Males perform displays dramatic

performances designed to establish

their dominance and intimidate rivals.

Fearless, Frodo sometimes

uses the human researchers

to enhance his displays.

Even Charlotte has fallen prey.

He'll give me a whack.

He'll just, just kind of add

a little flourish,

by incorporating me,

but it's not directed at me.

He, if he wants to hurt somebody,

he could have done it.

Females and their young are dominated

by this threat of force.

But when the fruit crop is ample,

everyone feasts.

A mother's care is the primary

influence on a young chimp's life.

Orphans find life hard.

Mel was orphaned

at the tender age of three.

Only the generosity of

others has allowed him to survive

for six more years.

Still, he seems to miss

the affection he

would have known within his mother's

arms something this little baby

seems to understand.

A temporary respite

from a life of loneliness.

Beyond the bond between mother

and child,

political relationships

are the life's blood of chimp society.

Even while relaxing,

chimps are jockeying for status.

Grooming is, quite literally,

currying favor.

Alliances become apparent

by observing who grooms whom.

Dominant animals and

their allies get the best pickings.

Food is a precious commodity.

They often compress fruit

into a pulpy "wodge,"

something like a tobacco chaw,

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