PILO!
January 19, 2016 by Anna -
Have you ever noticed a photo of the chimpanzees looking larger and “fluffier” than normal? Having hair that is pilo erect means that it involuntarily stands on end due to excitement, fear, or cold. Humans become pilo when we get goosebumps, and since we have less hair, it’s less obvious. Another example of piloerection is when a dog’s hackles go up. Looking to see if a chimpanzee is pilo or not helps caregivers gauge their arousal level. I perused through some of our old photos and videos to find some good examples of each chimpanzee demonstrating piloerection.
Foxie:
Burrito spends a great deal of his time in a “fluffy” state, so it was very easy to find a pilo picture:
Jody:
Annie (possibly pilo because she is running through the cold):
Jamie (about to display):
Missy:
I had a tough time finding a photo of Negra with pilo erect hair, but that’s because she’s usually in action during a fight. In the following video from a couple years ago, you can see Negra and others during a conflict. Watch for some good examples of piloerection:
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Ouch. Looks like Foxie has a chunk out of her left shoulder. I’m guessing I’d be pilo erect i somebody just took a chunk out of me also.
This is the first time I’ve seen Foxie pilo errect.
I remember that video!! I like the striped sock @ .53 seconds and again at 4.04 into the video (Tee hee hee!) Dressed for the occasion, how nice!
Question for you Anna (and I may have asked this the first time I saw video so sorry if I did!) , did the dispute start between Jody and Jamie, with Negra coming to Jody’s defense by seeking reassurance from Foxie? OR did the fight start with Negra and food and then move to Jody and Jamie? And if the initial conflict was between Jody and Jamie, why is it that the reconciliation is between Missy and Jody? Seems it should be between Jody and Jamie? Thanks!
Hi Kathleen,
I believe it was initially started by Jamie and Jody over food. Once the chimpanzees get into a fight everyone gets involved and they forget what they were fighting about in the first place. Usually there is reconciliation from multiple players (not always involved in starting the fight).
Hi, Anna,
Y’all must have spent hours in the “Situation Room” analysing the action in this video. 😉
I think I watched this ten times before you posted, and it just occurred to me that the fight seemed to have started with Negra, but by the end she was the one calling to put an end to it. How does that work? What was it Negra wanted when the conflict began? Was she and Jody going after Jamie to hurt her when they faced off with her hanging on the wall at the beginning? And why did the conflict then move to Missy and Jody? Understanding the reasons for that internal conflict is just as interesting to me, as the conflict and its participants itself.
Thanks!
Hi Carla, I think originally the fight was started between Jamie and Jody over food. Once chimpanzees start to fight, most everyone gets involved on some level and they forget what they were actually fighting about. Negra often pant hoots at the end of a conflict and they all usually take that as a sign the trouble is over.
Thanks, Anna. Almost makes you wonder why they go to all that trouble, dudnit? 😉