web Annie wadge cattail OA IMG_4785

Snowballs

November 19, 2011 by J.B. -

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YouTube video

You may notice in this video that the chimps often hold the snow out on their extended lower lip to inspect it. This behavior is common with wadges, the clumps of fibrous foods such as seeds and leaves that chimpanzees chew and suck the juice out of (see below). For some reason, chimps love to inspect their wadges as they chew them. Perhaps snow falls into the same category to them, or maybe it’s just too cold to keep in their mouths.

Annie with a wadge of cattails

 

5 Comments

  1. Candy (Tyler, TX) on November 19, 2011 at 3:13 pm

    Very interesting, I’ve never noticed they do that, thanks for pointing it out.



  2. Avatar Marcia Douthwaite on November 19, 2011 at 8:32 pm

    Love the photos and video, many thanks. (Orangutans also inspect what they are eating.) Warm wishes to all at CSNW.



  3. Sara Lissabet on November 23, 2011 at 3:04 pm

    Yummy. It’s a flavorless icee. Wonder what would happen if you sprinkled some fruit juice on a snowball? CHIMPANZEE SNOWCONES! 🙂



  4. marie cross (uk) on November 23, 2011 at 3:19 pm

    was wondering do chimps ever have sensitive teeth like us 🙂



    • Avatar J.B. on November 23, 2011 at 4:38 pm

      Yes, they do seem to be sensitive to too much cold at once (like a mouthful of snow) and I think they get brain freeze too.



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