When the going gets tough
September 4, 2014 by J.B. -
There’s always been a lot of tension between Jamie and Jody. Though Jamie is the alpha of the Cle Elum Seven, she’s never been secure in her leadership. She views everyone as a potential threat to her status as leader, and every action they take as a potential sign of disrespect. Jody, however, is strong willed and independent, and she refuses to submit to Jamie’s incessant demands for obedience.
Most of the mealtime conflicts here at CSNW follow the same script: Jody takes food that is rightfully hers. Jamie is upset that Jody took food. Jamie screams for ten minutes straight while following Jody around and demanding the food.
In their first few years at the sanctuary, Jody would break down and acquiesce. But over time she discovered that Jamie was more bark than bite, so she learned to hang onto the food in contention. And just the other day, when Jamie began her screaming routine over a piece of celery, Jody decided that she’d had enough, and she chased Jamie out onto Young’s Hill. Jamie was forced to take refuge on a climbing structure while Jody returned to the greenhouse to enjoy her celery in peace.
This one interaction doesn’t mean that Jody has taken over the alpha position in the group. She just doesn’t seem to have the drive or the backing to follow through with it. But it’s a good example of why the two might not always enjoy each others company.
Unless, that is, there is trouble afoot.
This morning, Jody was spooked by something out on the hill.
The others sensed her alarm and began to gather around.
But Jody wasn’t looking for their help. She knew exactly who she needed on her side in a situation like this.
She walked down the hill to meet Jamie, who was just coming out to check on the commotion. As soon as they met, Jody offered Jamie a kiss and embraced her in a request for reassurance.
Together, they joined up with Foxie and Burrito to patrol the area.
Jody may not always consider Jamie her best friend, but when the going gets tough, who are you going to turn to? The guy who hides behind a tree?
Or the boss?
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These posts are the best part of my day! Thank you! (Did anyone ever find out what spooked the group?)
Thank you, Julie! No, we never did figure it out. Sometimes it’s nothing more than a mouse or a garter snake in the tall grass. Jody gets spooked pretty easily.
Fascinating. Never knew that about Jody and Jamie.
I can hear Burrito saying… “No food involved, I ain’t going out there, let the girls take care of it”.
Informative post J.B. Thanks.
This has to be one of my all time favorite posts. Go Jody!!
I can’t tell you enough how much I love living through the caretakers of the chimps. I love the posts.
all the reports are consistently excellent and more and more insightful. thank you all for continuing our education into the lives of chimpanzees. it is more than clear how deeply you love your fur coated cousins by the way you care for ALL their needs: physical, mental and emotional. thank you very much.
I never knew this about Jody and Jamie. I always picture Jody as shy and quite so thinking of her chasing Jamie out onto the Hill shocks me. It does fascinate me that chimps work together as a group. If Jamie and Jody were 2 humans I am not sure Jody would seek Jamie for reassurance and comfort when needed — maybe it is human pride, but we do not seem to work together in the same way chimps do.
Does Jamie scream at any of the other chimps when they take their food shares or is this something she does only to Jody?
(And I don’t believe for one minute that Burrito was hiding behind that tree. I am sure he was just preparing to sneak up on the enemy. How very clever of him!) ; )
Hi Kathleen – You’re right, human arrogance does tend to get in the way. But on the other hand, look at how a president’s approval rating skyrockets when we go to war. Even many of those who are politically opposed to the president and his or her party willy rally behind them during difficult times. Obviously there are huge differences between the two examples, but there certainly are times when we put our differences behind us when faced with danger (for better or for worse!). Still, you are right on in your assessment that chimps are better able to get over their squabbles and move on.
Jamie also screams at Annie sometimes. This is why it is so difficult to talk about dominance hierarchies. Annie is on the lowest rung of the ladder, and yet she will often hold out against Jamie’s screaming tactics. Why would a subordinate chimp do that to the alpha? And yet Missy and Foxie, who are both higher ranking in the traditional sense than Annie, will voluntarily turn their food over to Jamie when Jamie demands it. Sometimes I would like to do away with the whole concept of the hierarchy, at least in captive settings with chimps that didn’t grow up in a typical chimp culture.
As for Burrito….did he pay you to write that?
Thank you J.B. for your insight, as always very enlightening. I was thinking about the captive setting myself and wondering if a wild Jody or even a wild Annie would react the same to the Leader of the Pack. Maybe some day soon the whole concept of the hierarchy will be eliminated for chimps in captive settings. The whole Alpha Dog concept has been blown apart with domesticated dogs.
As far as Burrito goes, do you think I would ever admit to it if he was paying me to write comments like my comment above?!? Really now, what kind of a friend do you think I am. ; )
Leslie, I sincerely don’t want to be *that* guy, but I believe chimps have hair, not fur.
Brenan – I know *that* guy! I have been that guy many times 🙂
You make an interesting point, but the distinction between hair and fur is quite complicated and, in my opinion, somewhat arbitrary. The actual chemical differences between, say, a dog’s fur and human hair are almost nonexistent. Some people make the distinction between the two based on length – a dog’s hair grows to a fixed length before pausing and finally being replaced, while the hair on our heads seems to grow endlessly. But the hair on our heads actually has a fixed length (or more accurately duration of growth) – it’s just much longer than that of a dog’s fur, or the hair on our arms for that matter.
Others make the distinction based on the number of hairs that grow from a single follicle. Our hair grows one per follicle, while the fur in a dog’s undercoat may grow up to 15 per follicle. But that is just on a dog’s undercoat. Their topcoat grows one per follicle just like our hair, yet we never say that a dog has hair on top of their fur.
But I totally agree with your choice of terminology. I like to use the word “hair” when talking about chimps because it removes one more mental barrier between us and them, and chimps can use all the help we can give them in that regard.
That was very interesting.
Crikey J.B. you are a font of information! Would you consider a series of video tutorials for all of us out here in CSNW Blog Land? I’d tune in weekly to learn from you and the other staffers. You could call it CSNW 101. Where do I sign up?! (I’m actually being kind of serious here!) ; )
I feel the same way, I have never looked at their coat as fur. I look at it like they are just hairy, and hairy they are. Also, I really like this story. I like the part where Jody gave Jaime a kiss to reassure her.
Kathleen!! What a great idea! I would even pay for that.
This new information about Jamie has me very curious and wondered if you would get a video of this behavior, I am truly very interested in it, as it seems such a stark difference in how most of us view Jamie.
also I meant to mention how this further backs up when you tell us (the csnw reading audience) how complicated and fluid relationships and hierarchy is in chimp societies.
I love Jamie…so intense….