Ok, so my last blog entry was on the serious side, maybe it’s time for something a little lighter. I had in mind to entitle this blog “Low Tech Accidental Study Of Primate Gender Behavioral Differences,” but I’m afraid that might not have caught your attention, even though it sums up pretty well what happened many years ago at one of my many different jobs.
So, a long time ago I had the opportunity to participate in an accidental “study” of primate behavior (actually not an official study, but it was truly an accident). At the time I had a job at the local zoo. My primary responsibilities were to keep the grass green and the garbage picked up. I enjoyed interacting with many co-workers and animals in the course of my daily routine. As I recall, I was being paid less than a dollar an hour, which was fine because it was a fun job (but certainly not easy). I often received free corndogs from the cute 15 and 16 year old girls working at the concession stands (please don’t let the bosses know), and I played with a lot of exotic animals – what a great gig.
One bright morning, prior to the gates being opened to the public, I heard an announcement over the public address system for all keepers to report immediately to the great apes building. I was more of a grounds keeper than an animal keeper, but I thought I’d go anyway to see what was going on. Four big adult chimpanzees were on the loose. Apparently the holding cage had not been properly secured – the chimps hit the door, it flung open, the stunned keeper went down, and the chimps headed out the back door. So here we have four chimps on the loose – 2 females, and 2 males. I sprinted to the far end of the zoo, hoping to find the escapees, and as I circled around the giraffe enclosure I came face to face with the two adult male chimpanzees.
They appeared intent on making it to the golf course adjacent to the zoo grounds. They were only about one good tee shot away from the fairway when they found me standing in their way. Fortunately they stopped in their tracks, as did I. So there I was, face to face with two powerful primates. When chimpanzees fight they are not nice, to say the least. However, I felt no fear – after all I was 15, male, and a high school football player, consequently I didn’t have the sense to see any danger. We stood there for a little while, just me and two big chimps. Soon several other keepers caught up to us. The chimps recognized their usual keeper and the zoo director, and the chimps cautiously approached them. Eventually they made it back to their enclosure and things got back to normal.
I found it interesting at the time that the two male chimps headed straight to the golf course, as if instinctively knowing where to go, while the two female chimps went “shopping” in an uninhabited part of the zoo where they could find berries and other things.
The event fortunately had a happy ending. The chimps were returned to their usual residence, and no one (human or otherwise) was harmed. And I was left with a fun story about chasing wild chimpanzees. How many city slicker kids have a chance to have such an experience?
I don’t believe there has been any attempt to replicate this accidental study, but it might be interesting to see if there is indeed a golf instinct built into male primates, or a shopping instinct built into female primates.
Thanks for reading – please leave a comment if you feel so inclined.
Doctor Mike