Pairs of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) where placed into testing rooms, separated by a mesh barrier. One individual had access to 30 tokens, divided into two separate colours – all of which could be given to the experimenter in exchange for food. Half of these when exchanged resulted in a selfish outcome in which only the individual handing the token received a reward, whereas the other half resulted in an altruistic outcome where both individuals received an equal reward. The individual handing the tokens to the experimenter was rewarded regardless.

If chimpanzees where choosing under a system driven by selfish interests, there should be a preference towards the choice where only the individual in control of the tokens receives a reward, and if the choice was purely random, each token would be expected to be seen 50% of the time. However, it was found that pairs where significantly more likely to share a reward (displaying prosocial behaviour), than choose the selfish option.

Victoria Hornera, J. Devyn Cartera, Malini Suchaka, and Frans B. M. de Waal (2011). Spontaneous prosocial choice by chimpanzees Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences : 10.1073/pnas.1111088108

Recently published online in the International Journal of Primatology, an article by Humle, Colin, Laurans, and Raballand (2010) discusses the release of a group of 12 chimpanzeees into the High Niger National Park in Guinea, West Africa. Through the efforts of the Chimpanzee Conservation Center, 9 chimpanzees remain in natural habitat at the time of publication. The conservation benefits of this substantial undertaking are numerous:

• While the park already has a viable population of chimpanzees, this effort adds reproductively mature individuals and genetic material to the endangered wild population.
• Additionally, with over 1000 chimpanzees in sanctuaries and other facilities rather than in the wild, the need to address their long-term management is acute. Not only is the individual welfare of the released chimpanzees enhanced, this scientific study of the release process will also aid conservation practitioners in the implementation of future chimpanzee rehabilitation.
• As the authors point out, the conservation status and role of the release area is promoted to the government and general public, which will hopefully bolster its future capacity to serve as suitable habitat for many species.

Previous reintroduction efforts have led to the adoption of an overall chimpanzee reintroduction plan that emphasizes adequate rehabilitation training for individuals and substantial monitoring following release. In order to determine an appropriate area for release, the authors cite numerous components, including habitat suitability (food, other resources, terrain, etc.), level of and proximity to human pressures, and the overall ability of chimpanzees to thrive in the absence of human involvement. Further, in order to monitor the activities of the chimpanzees, researchers used radiotracking collars on released individuals.

Chimpanzee (Photo: Kristin Abt)

The release site was chosen in part due to its strict protection as a core area within the park and its minimal roads. The demographics of the released individuals were 6 males and 6 females ranging from 8 to 20 years of age. Information included in the article details the social familiarity of the group, survival skills possessed by the individuals, and the number of years each had access to formative “bush-outings” with caretakers and expansive, naturalistic enclosures. Additionally, the researchers verified the genetic appropriateness of the subspecies (Pan troglodytes verus) and the overall health of each chimpanzee. The article also provides a 20 month timeline of events relevant to the release process including group dynamics, deaths, births, and sightings with wild chimpanzees.

Humle et al (2010) discusses the ranging patterns and habitat use of the released chimpanzees to obtain an overall picture of their behavior compared to typical wild chimpanzees in the area. Released males traveled significantly further than released females as measured by maximum mean distance travelled. They also remained significantly further from the release site than the females. Overall, the chimpanzees preferred forested areas over open space. Within the mixed forest-savanna habitat where the chimpanzees were released, the individuals remain independent of human provisioning. Additionally, two chimpanzees have been born to released females. Humle et al (2010) suggests that part of the success of the released chimpanzees could be due to the lower population densities of wild chimpanzees in the mixed habitat type along with their relatively larger ranges.

A number of agencies and professionals will ultimately contribute to the conservation efforts of a given species, as noted by the authors. This paper attempted to combine data on behavior, ecology, conservation, and wildlife management in order to approach the multi-faceted undertaking of chimpanzee rehabilitation. As with many conservation projects, communication and an interdisciplinary approach are needed to successfully achieve targeted goals.

The Chimpanzee Conservation Centre (CCC) is a member of the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) that aims to promote the welfare and conservation of primates in African countries. It unites sanctuaries together to train professionals at the facilities about animal management, veterinary care, and education. PASA accepts donations at its website to continue its primate care and conservation efforts.

Reference

Humle, T., Colin, C., Laurans, M., & Raballand, E. (2010). Group release of sanctuary chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the Haut Niger National Park, Guinea, West Africa: Ranging patterns and lessons so far. International Journal of Primatology. doi: 10.1007/s10764-010-9482-7

Giving the newborn a nice welcome kiss...

Plasmodium falciparum infecting Red Blood Cells

Plasmodium falciparum is the protozoan parasite that causes malaria in humans and ultimately the death of 2-3 million people a year. If you didn’t know, malaria is one of the most common infectious diseases and an enormous public health problem. Only one other malaria causing protozoan, a sister species of the P. falciparum parasite, P. reichenowi, was known to cause malaria but infects only chimpanzees. That was until researchers based in Gabon and France began sampling pet chimpanzees.

The team collected blood from 19 wild-borne animals kept as pets by villagers in Gabon, 17 of them being chimps. They found out that infected by a Plasmodium parasite, but sequencing of the parasite’s whole mitochondrial genome showed that it wasn’t P. falciparum nor P. reichenowi. Rather, it was a new species more closely related to P. falciparum. They classified the new species as P. gaboni.

Phylogenetic relationships among Plasmodium species (including P. sp_K) and associated host groups.

They have published their findings in the open access journal PLoS Genetics, under the title, “A New Malaria Agent in African Hominids.” You maybe asking why this is relevant to primatology? Many are against studies that use primates like chimpanzees because of ethical reasons. In situations like this, chimpanzees already infected with the parasite are useful to sample and study to shed light on the genomic adaptations of P. falciparum to humans and thus help in the discovery of new potential drug targets.

Ollomo, B., Durand, P., Prugnolle, F., Douzery, E., Arnathau, C., Nkoghe, D., Leroy, E., & Renaud, F. (2009). A New Malaria Agent in African Hominids PLoS Pathogens, 5 (5) DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1000446

Sebestyen-Forrester observed that a right-handed bias for actions that also involved head and mouth movements among gorillas. As you may know, the right side of the body is controlled by the left hemisphere of the brain, which is also the location for language development. Sebestyen-Forrester’s hypothesis is that this handedness bias offers major clues as to how language developed in humans. Gorillas deploy a wide range of non-verbal communicative behaviors, such as facial expression, eye gazes and manual gestures, and tactile signals (like grooming and huddling which are used for social cohesion). In my own experiences, I quickly came to learn what a lip-smack, pursed lip, chestslap, purr, etc. meant.

Gorilla Social Play

But I digress, Sebestyen-Forrester tested her hypothesis by recording the behaviors of a female gorilla mother and her infant, along with their social network at the Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent, United Kingdom. She coded the results and noted that behaviors that involved head and mouth movements correlated with right handedness.

This multidimensional method evaluates all synchronous physical actions of the body in a reciprocal manner. And her analysis did reveal a coordinated physical action, thus demonstrating differences in lateral motor activity. She understands this observation to be ethologically valid to extend that animals with the closest genetic link to humans would express communication skills with some similarities to human.

G FORRESTER (2008). A multidimensional approach to investigations of behaviour: revealing structure in animal communication signals Animal Behaviour DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.05.026

West African Chimpanzees

The team conducted a survey of the chimpanzees and found only 800 to 1,200 individuals, which is a significant drop from the down 8,000 to 12,000 individuals counted in 1989-90. The drop in chimpanzees correlates Côte d’Ivoire’s 50% growth human population sizes. With the increased human footprint comes more hunting and deforestation, driving chimpanzee populations down.

In 8 of the 11 survey sites, researchers found significantly fewer chimp nests than had been found in 1989-90. In Marahoué National Park, study co-author Campbell found only one nest, versus 234 in 1989-90.  The only site that did not experience a decline in population is the Taï National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site that has benefited from intensive research and conservation efforts. The Taï numbers suggest that the apes’ numbers respond to stable conservation efforts.

Our collective knowledge of west African chimps is far less than the east African chimp populations. With recent findings, like the 4,300 years of continuous nut cracking behavior among these populations, we’ve only begun to understand the depth of their behaviors and abilities.

Campbell G, Kuehl H, Kouamé PN, Boesch C. 2008. Alarming decline of West African chimpanzees in Côte d’Ivoire. Current Biology 18, R903-R904. DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2008.08.015

The story behind the adoption revolves around Anjana’s caregiver, China York, and the bond they share. China raised Anjana and Anjana has mimicked her human caregiver in caring for other animals at the institute, such as the new born white tiger cubs. The Daily Mail has more details, so jump on over there once you had your fill on the images.

You can request to become friends with “Albert.” I did, and along with 263 other people, am friends with “Albert.” (UPDATE: they removed and banned me from being friends with Albert after I posted this) You can also check out his second, more specialized profile on Palabea, another site dedicated to networking with people from different linguistic backgrounds.

Unless it was “Albert” that wrote the press release, I believe Marlowe or at least the person behind is to blame, hyping this up big time, writing that,

“With the help of specially designed software that recognises sign language (ASL), and a “chimp proof” adapted touch-screen, these leading scientists recently announced that the four apes can communicate using more than 1000 symbols, adapted to the most popular features of the online social network.

They can chat online with their best friends from around the world, write text messages, and even upload their favourite profile pictures. Albert gang has become very popular among Facebook’s users.”

He also writes that “Albert” is the first ape to join Facebook, the largest online social network. Well humans are apes, and Facebook is full of humans, so “Albert” is not the first ape to join Facebook. Furthermore, Myspace is the largest online social network.

I’ve done some sleuthing to figure out more about John Marlowe and his work with “Albert,” and I can’t find much information. The only profile of John Marlowe, as a primatologist, seems to be the only the source of the hype engine, Marlowe’s one-post-blog, CyberChimps. On CyberChimps, Marlowe says he has a,

“BA and PhD in Psychology and Biology from Stanford University. Upon completion of his PhD, he joined the Biology staff at the University of Northern Oregon.”

I can’t seem to find any reference to the University of Northern Oregon. There is not a website, which I find ironic. On other pages, the university is called Northern Oregon University (NOU). The only references to NOU I can find are fictional stories that mention it.

Oregon is a state in the United States, but John Marlowe’s very own Facebook profile says he lives in London. Furthermore, Marlowe indicates, “Albert” is at the Yorke’s Institute, which seems to be another fictional location… the only reference to Yorke Institutes I can find is a professional school that train people in hospitality and cooking.

I did a WHOIS on CyberChimps.org and it is owned by Sebastian Schkudlara, of Palabea.

Admin ID:ABM-9932673
Admin Name:Sebastian Schkudlara
Admin Organization:Palabea e-Services GmbH
Admin Street1:Neue Bahnhofstr. 9-10
Admin Street2:
Admin Street3:
Admin City:Berlin
Admin State/Province:DE
Admin Postal Code:10245
Admin Country:DE
Admin Phone:+49.3021237877
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin FAX:+49.3021238202
Admin FAX Ext.:
Admin Email:info@palabea.com


The last clincher, and the most convincing evidence that we are being duped, are the photographs of Albert. Several of the portraits of Albert are actually of different individuals. And the screen shots circulating of Albert using Facebook are photoshopped screen grabs of Ayumu the chimp. If you wanna check it out for yourself, look at this video I shared of Ayumu’s cognitive abilities in January of this year.

Here’s documentation of the Photoshop work, Ayumu on the left and Albert on the right.

With fake scientific publications, no real institutions, links between CymberChimp and Palabea, and above all poorly done Photoshop work, this all smells like a poor attempt to go viral, headed by Palabea. I know all’s fair in startups and marketing and is a cleaver tactic to brand your new product, but there is something at stake here… People do fall for crap like this and publicity stunts like this jeopardizes honest research in primate cognition, and the scientific process. I just hope the mainstream press doesn’t fall for this crap and further perpetuate the problem.