The Pygmy Chimpanzee: Evolutionary Biology and Behavior PDF
Preview The Pygmy Chimpanzee: Evolutionary Biology and Behavior
The Pygmy Chimpanzee Evolutionary Biology and Behavior Hal Coolidge on the Asiatic Primate Expedition, 1937. The Pygmy Chimpanzee Evolutionary Biology and Behavior Edited by Randall L. Susman School of Medicine State University of New York at Stony Brook Stony Brook, New York PLENUM PRESS • NEW YORK AND LONDON Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title: The Pygmy chimpanzee. Includes bibliographical references and index. I. Pygmy chimpanzee. I. Susman, Randall L., 1948- QL737.P96P94 1984 599.88'44 84-13236 ISBN 978-1-4757-0084-8 ISBN 978-1-4757-0082-4 (eBook) DOl 10.1007/978-1-4757-0082-4 ©1984 Plenum Press, New York Softcover reprint of the hardcover 15t edition 1984 A Division of Plenum Publishing Corporation 233 Spring Street, New York, N.Y. 10013 All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher To Hal Coolidge Contributors Alison Badrian Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794 Noel Badrian Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794 Harold Jefferson Coolidge Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 Raymond C. Heimbuch Department of Medical Biostatistics, Ortho Pharmaceutical Company, Raritan, New Jersey 08869 William L. Jungers Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Med icine, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794 Kabongo Ka Mubalamata lnstitut de Recherche Scientifique, Centre de Recherche de Lwiro, Bukavu, Zaire Takayoshi Kano Department of Human Ecology, College of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, 207 Uehara, Nishihara, Okinawa, Japan Warren G. Kinzey Department of Anthropology, City College of New York, City University of New York, New York, New York 10031 Suehisa Kuroda Laboratory of Physical Anthropology, Faculty of Sci ence, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606 Japan vii viii CONTRIBUTORS Jeffrey T. Laitman Department of Anatomy, Mount Sinai School ofMed icine of the City University of New York, New York, New York 10029 Richard K. Malenky Department of Ecology and Evolution, State Uni versity of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794 Henry M. McHenry Department of Anthropology, University of Cali fornia at Davis, Davis, California 95616 Mbangi Mulavwa Institut de Recherche Scientifique, Centre de Mabali, B.P. 36 Bikoro, Equateur, Zaire Vincent M. Sarich Departments of Anthropology and Biochemistry, U ni versity of California, Berkeley, California 94720 E. S. Savage-Rumbaugh Language Research Center, Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center, Emory University, and Georgia State Uni versity, Atlanta, Georgia 30322 Brian T. Shea Department of Anthropology, American Museum of Nat ural History, New York, New York 10024. Present address: De partments of Anthropology and Cell Biology and Anatomy, North western University, Evanston, Illinois 60201 Wladyslaw W. Socha Primate Blood Group Reference Laboratory and WHO Collaborating Centre for Haematology of Primate Animals, Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP), New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016 Randall L. Susman Department of Anatomical Sciences, School ofMed icine, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794 Nancy Thompson-Handler Department of Anthropology, Yale Univer sity, New Haven, Connecticut 06520 Dirk F. E. Thys Van den Audenaerde Vertebrate Section, Musee Royale de I'Afrique Centrale, B-1980 Tervuren, Belgium Adrienne L. Zihlman Department of Anthropology, University of Cali fornia at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California 95064 Foreword Historical Remarks Bearing on the Discovery of Pan paniscus Whether by accident or by design, it was most fortunate that Robert M. Yerkes, the dean of American primatologists, should have been the first scientist to describe the characteristics of a pygmy chimpanzee, which he acquired in August 1923, when he purchased him and a young female companion from a dealer in New York. The chimpanzees came from somewhere in the eastern region of the Belgian Congo and Yerkes esti mated the male's age at about 4 years. He called this young male Prince Chim (and named his female, com mon chimpanzee counterpart Panzee) (Fig. I). In his popular book, Almost Human, Yerkes (1925) states that in all his experiences as a student of animal behavior, "I have never met an animal the equal of this young chimp ... in approach to physical perfection, alertness, adaptability, and agreeableness of disposition" (Yerkes, 1925, p. 244). Moreover, It would not be easy to find two infants more markedly different in bodily traits, temperament, intelligence, vocalization and their varied expressions in action, than Chim and Panzee. Here are just a few points of contrast. His eyes were black and in his dark face lacked contrast and seemed beady, cold, expressionless. Hers were brown, soft, and full of emotional value, chiefly because of their color and the contrast with her light complexion. Chim's ears were small, set close to his head and fringed with black hair, whereas Panzee's stood out conspicuously, and were light in color and hairless. Their foreheads, noses, lips and head conformations also differed noticeably. (Yerkes, 1925, p.245.) When it comes to animal temperament, we are at a loss for descriptive terms. Little Chim was notable for his bold, aggressive manner, his constant alertness ix x FOREWORD Figure 1. A portrait of Prince Chim. FOREWORD xi and eagerness for new experiences. Seldom daunted, he treated the mysteries of life as philosophically as any man. Panzee was timid, nervous, hesitant before anything novel or new. When there was anything to learn by "trial and error," he took the lead and she followed at an eminently safe distance. Chim also was even-tempered and good-natured, always ready for a romp; he seldom resented by word or deed unintentional rough handling or mishap. Never was he known to exhibit jealousy .... [By contrast,] Panzee could not be trusted in critical situations. Her resentment and anger were readily aroused and she was quick to give them expression with hands and teeth. (Yerkes, 1925, p. 246.) Everything seems to indicate that Chim was extremely intelligent. His sur prising alertness and interest in things about him bore fruit in action, for he was constantly imitating the acts of his human companions and ,esting all objects. He rapidly profited by his experiences .... Never have I seen a man or beast take greater satisfaction in showing off than did little Chim. The contrast in intellectual qualities between him and his female companion may briefly, if not entirely adequately, be described by the term "opposites." (Yerkes, 1925, p. 248.) In group behavior studies his actions "contrasted almost as markedly with that of his chimpanzee associates as did his appearance, for he was a little black-face with rather conspicuous nose, small ears, and a heavy coat of fine black hair, whereas most of them were white-face specimens with the typical chimpanzee nose, large, conspicuous ears, and much coarser and generally less thick coat of hair" (Yerkes, 1925, p. 251). Sadly, Prince Chim died of pneumonia while visiting Madam Abreu's colony in Havana in July 1924. Professor Yerkes states that he was ac tually a prince of his kind and his "behavior even in death goes far to justify the title of this story, Almost Human. Prince Chim seems to have been an intellectual genius. His remarkable alterness and quickness to learn were associated with a cheerful and happy disposition which made him the favorite of all, and gave him a place of distinction not only in their regard but in their memories" (Yerkes, 1925, p. 255). I recall with great pleasure meeting Prince Chim at the Yerkes' farm in Franklin, New Hampshire, and remember his greeting me with a firm handshake. Little did I realize that he would open the way to the important studies to be described in this volume 60 years later. It was my good fortune to have my own interest in the anthropoid apes and particularly gorillas, in a large measure sparked by my distin guished friend, Robert M . Yerkes, for many years professor of psychology at Yale University. I was fortunate to have served as assistant zoologist on the Harvard Medical School African Expedition in 1926-1927, where I collected and documented a good-sized mountain gorilla in the mountains of the eastern Belgian Congo for the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard. This expedition was followed by a survey of gorilla material
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