The Great Apes Research Paper
Jacob Mamiye 12/6/2014
Anthropology Professor Mwaria
Social Organization, Characteristics and Behaviors of the Great Apes
1 Compare and contrast the social organization of the great apes (chimps, bonobos, and gorilla’s orangutans) and savannah baboons. What accounts for these differences?
The social organization of baboons is one of the most intensely studied of the primates. There is only one defined level of social organization in savanna baboons, the stable group of several dozen individuals. This group is defined by tending to not break into any recurring subgroups and not merging with neighboring groups. In Papio hamadryas, (desert baboons), both internal organization and relations with other groups resembles that of savanna baboons. Hamadryas may spilt into one male units that eat separately during the day but may sleep on the same rocks at night. Several bands of baboons may merge to sleep on the same rock at night forming a troop. Clearly a troop has …show more content…
Schaller reported that, “Karbara gorillas rarely groomed and that grooming was never reciprocal.” (Tuttle 293) Instead grooming was solely used to remove their body of irritants they themselves could not reach- similar to the way a human can ask someone to scratch their back. Females are the only individuals inclined to grooming (only the infants). Blackbacked males never groom and females hardly ever groom each other. Youngsters like all the primates noted are playful. Play bouts observed are brief periods less than 15 minutes long and do not result in fights or arguments. Observations made by Dian Fossey yielded more information on behavior since she created more intimate bonds with her study group in the Parc De Volcans Mountains. She confirmed that gorillas lived their life in tranquility with an absence of inherent violence. So like the bonobos, gorillas expose the gentle nature of the great
Anthropology Professor Mwaria
Social Organization, Characteristics and Behaviors of the Great Apes
1 Compare and contrast the social organization of the great apes (chimps, bonobos, and gorilla’s orangutans) and savannah baboons. What accounts for these differences?
The social organization of baboons is one of the most intensely studied of the primates. There is only one defined level of social organization in savanna baboons, the stable group of several dozen individuals. This group is defined by tending to not break into any recurring subgroups and not merging with neighboring groups. In Papio hamadryas, (desert baboons), both internal organization and relations with other groups resembles that of savanna baboons. Hamadryas may spilt into one male units that eat separately during the day but may sleep on the same rocks at night. Several bands of baboons may merge to sleep on the same rock at night forming a troop. Clearly a troop has …show more content…
Schaller reported that, “Karbara gorillas rarely groomed and that grooming was never reciprocal.” (Tuttle 293) Instead grooming was solely used to remove their body of irritants they themselves could not reach- similar to the way a human can ask someone to scratch their back. Females are the only individuals inclined to grooming (only the infants). Blackbacked males never groom and females hardly ever groom each other. Youngsters like all the primates noted are playful. Play bouts observed are brief periods less than 15 minutes long and do not result in fights or arguments. Observations made by Dian Fossey yielded more information on behavior since she created more intimate bonds with her study group in the Parc De Volcans Mountains. She confirmed that gorillas lived their life in tranquility with an absence of inherent violence. So like the bonobos, gorillas expose the gentle nature of the great