Chimp & See Talk

Best of 2016!

  • ChimpMods by ChimpMods

    The best clips of 2016 have been chosen! Click here to jump to the results!

    We've had another wonderful year at Chimp & See, thanks to all of our awesome volunteers! As we did in 2015, we thought a "Best of" event would be a fun way to close out the year and share some of our favorite clips with each other. Did you have a favorite chimp in 2016? We saw lots of camera reactions - which was the best? Share the best and most memorable clips of 2016, and then we'll vote!

    We want to see the best clips in the following categories:

    • Favorite chimp
    • Funniest clip
    • Best camera reaction
    • Creepiest clip
    • Cutest clip
    • Biggest surprise

    There are 2 important rules to follow this year:

    1. We only want to include clips from sites that were opened in 2016. So that means, all nominations should come from Dawn Bird, Restless Star, Cold Fire, & Aged Violet.

    2. To keep the final voting poll manageable, please only nominate 1 clip per category, or 2 if you really can't decide. It's okay to pick the same clip for more than one category, or the same clip as someone else.

    To nominate your favorites, just post a reply in this thread that includes the category and clip ID (e.g., ACP0001234) for each nomination. This thread will stay open for 2 weeks so you have time to find your favorites. Then, we'll collect all the nominations, and you can vote on the Best of 2016!

    Where to find clips?

    To give you a head start, we've prepared some special collections that include only clips from the 2016 sites:

    dailyzoo | funny | playing | selfie | camera reaction | surprise | creepy

    Not all clips will be in the above collections, though, so here are some other places to look:

    Just remember, the clips have to come from Dawn Bird, Restless Star, Cold Fire, & Aged Violet.

    Now, let the Best of 2016 event begin! We look forward to seeing your favorites. 😄

    Posted

  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    Woohoo!! Thanks to Kris and Jane for organizing the event and the collections! I can't wait to see what everyone nominates 😄 😄 😄

    Posted

  • jwidness by jwidness moderator

    Kris should really get all the credit!

    To start off the nominations, I'll just put in my favorite funny video: ACP000c4ii. I absolutely love the juvenile trying to hitch a ride while mom's already carrying a little sibling : )

    enter image description here

    Still thinking on the other categories, it's hard to choose favorites!

    Posted

  • AnLand by AnLand moderator

    Here are my picks (sorry, I am totally addicted to the collages ...)

    enter image description here

    Posted

  • jwidness by jwidness moderator

    I've decided on my nominee for creepiest -- ACP000e3qb. The combination of the sound and visual makes it feel like they're on me!

    enter image description here

    Posted

  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    I have 2 nominees for cutest: the chimp hug https://talk.chimpandsee.org/#/subjects/ACP000bv07 and the gorilla hug https://talk.chimpandsee.org/#/subjects/ACP000bgxz

    Posted

  • jwidness by jwidness moderator

    I've got my pick for favorite camera reaction: ACP0007hlc. The facial expression and the timing are perfect : )

    enter image description here

    Posted

  • ksigler by ksigler moderator

    Love these nominations so far!! Keep 'em comin', guys!

    Posted

  • NuriaM by NuriaM scientist, moderator

    my turn 😛 :

    Favorite chimp: the lovely Filou from Aged Violet for his maternal instinct: ACP000f6m7

    Funniest clip: sooty mangabey tunnel ACP000fc9y

    Best camera reaction: agree with Jane: ACP0007hlc

    Creepiest clip: `what the...´ clip: ACP00080r6

    Cutest clip: cute play moments: ACP000fxpm

    Biggest surprise: it has to be an elephant video...gotcha!! : ACP000ch68

    Posted

  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    My nom for favourite is Schumi (or the tag team of Nana & Schumi if you will 😃 ) https://talk.chimpandsee.org/#/subjects/ACP00083ctenter image description here

    Posted

  • yshish by yshish moderator

    Well done, Kris! I had lots of fun going through my collection while looking for the clips to nominate! 😃

    Well, I haven't been here often enough to see all the chimps and other cool clips but from those I did see I'd like to nominate these:

    • Favorite chimp - without any doubt it's Vili 😄 ACP00083ge
    • Funniest clip: ACP00080v3 chimp infant unable to catch the branch with its legs; or a chimp urinating on its buddy ACP000ce3w
    • Best camera reaction: ACP0007h4r a red duiker observing the camera while doing funny moves; or this cute elephant moving back from the camera ACP000bgq8
    • Creepiest clip: not as creepy as the insect video nominated by @jwidness above but close enough - galagos screaming and then jumping like crazy in front of the camera ACP000cb2a
    • Cutest clip: ACP000877d chimp infant copying its mum cracking nuts
    • Biggest surprise: ACP000bytb hm, probably these gorillas meeting human researchers

    Sorry I put two for some categories, I just cannot decide between them 😦 If it's a problem, just ignore the second option for each. Thanks!

    Edit: I had to remove this mangabey crèche: ACP0007f73 from my nomination list because it is from Lingering Shape!

    Posted

  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    That Vili clip is so cute!!! love it 😃

    Posted

  • Boleyn by Boleyn moderator

    Shy question: LingeringShape was still active beginning of 2016. Can I nominate from LS as well?

    Posted

  • AnLand by AnLand moderator in response to Boleyn's comment.

    Hi @Boleyn, no, sorry. It has been decided to include only the sites that were newly opened in 2016 to avoid confusion with sites that were active in both past years. Lingering Shape opened in 2015 and is excluded here. 😦

    Posted

  • Boleyn by Boleyn moderator in response to AnLand's comment.

    ok, no problem, there are plenty others 😄

    Posted

  • Boleyn by Boleyn moderator

    Thanks a lot for the opportunity to suggest and vote for the best clips of the year!
    It seems to be even harder than last year: there are so many gorgeous, nice, interesting, weird, funny and whatnot videos.

    Favourite chimp:

    ACP000cc09 Actually I would love to nominate all our good friends at Restless-Star. To me it's impossible to name a real favourite. They almost feel like family and it would be like favouring one child over the other.

    ACP00087dq If I must choose one then I'd go for DBInf04. No name yet but I named it James Brown for myself 😃

    Funniest clip:
    ACP000gnpq 4 youngsters - 4 riding styles (this is my overall favourite video of the year)

    Best camera reaction:
    ACP00083cu A Dawn-bird juvenile (no TempID yet...) could be nominated as well under surprise or funny 😄
    leopard downs a camera was a close runner-up though: ACP000e4yt

    Creepiest clip:
    ACP0007y7p The monster pumpkin with a creepy worm

    Cutest clip:
    ACP000fxpp Etta playing with her baby

    Biggest surprise:
    ACP000eo7a A couple of honey badger

    noncompetitive but just a clip to remember, the lovely bushbuck scene: ACP000ckyx 😉

    Posted

  • charly03 by charly03

    Hallo,

    my favorite of "funny" is ACP000bv07 It is so lovely. 😃

    my favorite of " best selfie" is APC000cnrd The gorilla say: "Look, I`m a star." 😃

    Posted

  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    I'm putting this one as my best camera reaction: https://talk.chimpandsee.org/#/subjects/ACP000ecvj and funniest I'm giving to this dork: https://talk.chimpandsee.org/#/subjects/ACP000cejo

    Posted

  • ksigler by ksigler moderator in response to Boleyn's comment.

    I agree, @Boleyn -- it does seem harder this year! With fewer sites, I thought it would be easier, but there are just so many great clips! On the bright side, it makes it a lot of fun. Still working on narrowing mine down. 😛

    Posted

  • Boleyn by Boleyn moderator in response to ksigler's comment.

    haha...it took me literally hours to narrow mine down - but as you said @ksigler with TONS of fun 😄

    Posted

  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    I have my biggest surprise today! https://talk.chimpandsee.org/#/subjects/ACP000bhc2 what are they doing together??!?!? (just creepiest to go!)

    Posted

  • Batfan by Batfan

    Great idea! My selection is -

    Funniest clip: https://talk.chimpandsee.org/#/subjects/ACP000cchm . Naughty monkey!

    Best camera reaction: Hard to choose - there are so many good ones - but for me it has to be https://talk.chimpandsee.org/#/subjects/ACP000bnby . Just love the intentness.

    Creepiest clip. https://talk.chimpandsee.org/#/subjects/ACP0007ufx Didn’t actually come across this myself, but found it in the creepy collection. Just like my childhood idea of the monster under the bed!

    Cutest clip: Was going to nominate the little cutie in https://talk.chimpandsee.org/#/subjects/ACP000eary but then saw MimiA’s nomination for https://talk.chimpandsee.org/#/subjects/ACP000bgxz. Think that one probably caps it.

    Biggest surprise: https://talk.chimpandsee.org/#/subjects/ACP000cdi9 . Not the clearest of pictures, but definitely the one that took me most by surprise.

    Favorite chimp: Not yet familiar enough with individuals to pick one. They’re all beautiful.

    Posted

  • ChimpMods by ChimpMods

    Just a reminder, only 3 more days left in the nomination period! Please have all your submissions in by Saturday night (12/24) EST. Voting should begin around New Years. Thanks, guys!

    Posted

  • kristinhavercamp by kristinhavercamp scientist

    All the clips nominated so far are great 😄

    Funniest clip & cutest clip: ACP000gnpq

    Best camera reaction: ACP000efpb

    Creepiest clip (the birds' movements appear to mirror each other!): ACP000g1pm

    Biggest surprise (I agree with @Batfan here, this is quite a surprise and pretty funny 😃): ACP000cdi9

    I'm unsure of what to nominate this for (it doesn't really fit any category), but I really like this clip: ACP000cb2b

    Posted

  • Boleyn by Boleyn moderator in response to kristinhavercamp's comment.

    I'm so glad you have chosen video ACP000cb2b no matter what category! It was long in my list as funniest clip but I had to skip it for our 4 riding infants. I hope they'll put it in either of the categories - it's just too good to completely neclect it. 😄

    Posted

  • ksigler by ksigler moderator

    Whew, just before the deadline. Many of my picks were already mentioned, so I wanted to find some other options to keep it interesting. 😃

    • Cutest: The hardest category IMO, but this adorable genet deserves some credit ACP000g128

    • Camera Reaction: I loved the expression on this little one's face, and the way s/he looks around like, "what's going on here?" ACP00087fj

    • Favorite Chimp: Tough... there were some real cuties in Dawn Bird, but I had to nominate Lady P, La_Presidente ACP000cgq4

    • Biggest Surprise: seeing this side-striped jackal up close during the day was awesome ACP000bewn

    • Creepiest: I thought @jwidness mentioned it but I don't see it now... this one makes my skin crawl for sure ACP000e3qb

    • Funniest: I was going to go with the dancing elephant ACP000bt84, but then I remembered how much I loved this tourist ACP000bywp

    I had a lot of fun revisiting some of these favorites, and discovering some new ones, too. Hope you guys did, as well!

    Posted

  • Snorticus by Snorticus

    Oh so late, I almost missed it!

    Favorite chimp: ACP000f6m7 Kamala - seems to work so hard to crack her nuts and hold her own with Filou & the seemingly higher status Marlyn.

    Funniest: ACP000ce3w The bush-shower, as Boleyn called it, poor chimp, lol!

    Best camera reaction: ACP000cn8g This guy, so casual.

    Creepiest: ACP000cd1l Maybe disconcerting is a better word - these strange males with very rugged faces. It was a bit unsettling to see them running in and hanging out all over our known chimp's area.

    Cutest: ACP000bv07 Jonah running to hug Nuka-Taka. Have replayed this so many times.

    Cool/big surprise: ACP0007h94 The body language is so cool between these miffed chimps.

    It was fun looking back at everyone's picks. Gonna be hard to settle on the best of 2016.

    Posted

  • jwidness by jwidness moderator

    There are still a couple minutes, right? ; )

    Rounding out the rest of mine, I'm nominating ACP0007zlz for cutest, ACP0007koh for biggest surprise, and I don't really have a favorite chimp, but I'll put in Upala -- ACP000ceu4 -- just because.

    Can't wait to see how the voting goes!

    Posted

  • ChimpMods by ChimpMods

    Thanks to everyone for their nominations! We know it was hard; there were many good clips this year! The poll to vote on your favorites will be prepared over the next week, and voting is scheduled to take place the first week in January. Happy New Year, Chimp & See! 🎉

    Posted

  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    oh crap! I nominated a video that was URL hacked 😦

    Kris, please remove my camera reaction nomination!!

    and for everyone else please read my post on URL hacking: https://talk.chimpandsee.org/#/boards/BCP0000006/discussions/DCP0001isd and lets discuss it if you have any questions or concerns 😃

    cheers
    mimi

    Posted

  • ChimpMods by ChimpMods

    Thanks to all who submitted nominations for the Best of 2016! Narrowing the year down to just a handful of clips was challenging, but fun, and now it's time to vote on the best of the best!

    We set up a survey so you can view all the clips and send us your votes. Based on feedback from last year, we made some changes to make this year's survey a little shorter. It will take about 15 minutes, and you should(!) be able to stop and continue from the same device, if needed. As you view each video, you have the opportunity to give it a score of 1 (low) to 5 (high). Voting ends on Sunday, January 8th, after which we'll tally the scores to find the winners for each category.

    The survey is open to anyone (one entry per computer), so feel free to share this "highlight reel" with your family and friends so they can join in the fun and add their votes, as well!

    If you have any problems or questions, please let us know. Enjoy, have fun, and may the best clips win!

    Vote Now!

    (You are free to enter scores for as many or as few videos as you'd like, but only one voting form can be submitted per computer. Votes are anonymous. Be sure to submit your votes before January 8, 2017, at 11:00pm EST.)

    Posted

  • jwidness by jwidness moderator

    It was hard not to give every video a 5, but I managed to do it ; ). There are so many great ones!

    Posted

  • ChimpMods by ChimpMods

    Reminder - only 3 days left to vote for the Best of 2016! If you haven't already...

    Vote Now!

    Posted

  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    Thanks again kris for organizing this!!! its been so exciting going trough all these great videos!!! I hope everyone has put their votes in !!! 😄

    Posted

  • ChimpMods by ChimpMods

    Thank you to everyone for a fun and successful Best of 2016 event! There were some really entertaining clips this past year, and I hope you enjoyed the chance to revisit them. Now, which ones did you think were the best? Here are the results from the voting!

    The Best of Chimp & See 2016:


    Favorite chimp:

    Winner: 🏆 Kamala 🏆 | Runners Up: Vili and DBInf04

    Kamala
    Vili
    DBInf04


    Funniest clip:

    Winner: 🏆 Off to school 🏆 | Runners Up: Jonah needs a hug and Still learning the jungle gym

    School
    Hug
    Jungle gym


    Best camera reaction:

    Winner: 🏆 Maryln tries to figure things out 🏆 | Runners Up (tie): Here, get my best side and Mom and baby get a close look

    Maryln
    Gorilla
    Mom and baby


    Creepiest clip:

    Winner: 🏆 Galagos shrieking in the night 🏆 | Runners Up: The floating head and Ant swarm

    Galagos
    Head
    Ants


    Cutest clip:

    Winner: 🏆 Off to school 🏆 | Runners Up: Etta and baby playtime
     and Jonah needs a hug

    School
    Etta
    Hug


    Biggest surprise:

    Winner: 🏆 Jackal's daytime close-up 🏆 | Runners Up: Filou, a male with a maternal instinct and Bespeckled chimp selfie

    Jackal
    Filou
    Selfie


    There we go -- the Best of Chimp & See 2016! Thank you again to those that nominated and voted during the event. Also, a very big thank you to all the volunteers who, one clip at a time, have brought us this far and will carry us on through an undoubtedly exciting 2017!

    Posted

  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    Than you so much to everyone who nominated and voted and especially to Kris for this massive undertaking!!!! Looking forward to more great videos in 2017!

    Posted

  • ksigler by ksigler moderator

    I just wanted to personally thank everyone again for participating in this event! These can be a lot of work for us to put together, but based on the feedback I've seen, it seems like everyone really enjoyed it, which makes it all worth it. And we've noted all your feedback submitted on the voting form, which we'll use to help us plan and improve future events. Thank you!

    There were also two very good questions asked that we felt were important to respond to publicly so everyone could benefit from the answers:

    Outdated videos?

    The data collection part of this project started in 2010, and there are still cameras running today. That's why the dates on the videos seem to cover such a wide range of time -- this is a huge project! When you see videos with dates from several years ago, it doesn't mean the footage is "outdated" as it's still relevant for the purposes of this project. The field team only has time to briefly review the footage they capture. They aren't able to carefully and thoroughly document each species, behavior, and individual chimp. That is the work we're doing, and it doesn't require that the footage be from any certain time period. Hopefully that makes sense!

    The Science Team reports that there are still several years worth of footage to upload, and possibly even more to come, from new sites and or even some from our "old" sites, as research monitoring has continued in some places. The hope is that our work here will help motivate organizations to continue studying and protecting these areas and the beautiful wildlife in them.

    You can read more about this here
    and here

    Learning to recognize chimps while classifying

    Learning to recognize individual chimps can be very challenging. It helps if you're visually detail-oriented, but anyone can learn with practice. We're in the process of creating some new tutorials and guides to assist with it, but as for learning to do it specifically while categorizing/classifying, try this:

    Each of our research sites has a list of Prospective (unmatched) and Known (matched) chimps. You'll find all of them on the discussion boards for each research site. Open the Prospective/Known Chimps list for the current research site(s) in a separate tab or window. For example, here is the Aged Violet list which is the latest one we're classifying right now. Then you can easily switch back and forth to refer to this list if you come across a chimp clip, and compare the ones you found with the ones on the list.

    Here are some simple steps to get started:

    First, pick just one unique chimp from the Aged Violet list to focus on. For example, about halfway down the list, there is a chimp named Baron that we've only seen a few times so far. He is a large dark male with a gray beard, a nicked/scored right ear, a folded left ear, and sort of a pointy triangle-shaped bald spot - very unique!

    Baron

    Choose a chimp like this, then keep it in mind to look for as you classify. In this example, if you come across a chimp during classification, compare it Baron:

    1. Are you looking at the same research site where Baron lives (it should say Aged Violet)?
    2. Is it an adult?
    3. Is it a male?
    4. Is he dark all over with a gray beard?
    5. Does he have the same shaped bald spot?
    6. If you can see the ears, is the right one nicked? Is the left one folded?

    The more times you can answer "yes," the better the chances that it's a match. And obviously, if you can rule out a match because some trait is completely different (no baldness, for example), then you can take a look at the Prospective/Known list to see if there's another option, or just move on with your search - however you want to do it. After a while, looking for these details will become second nature, and you'll start to more readily spot the differences and similarities across the chimp populations.

    If you think you've recognized a chimp, let us know! You'll create a new post on the board for that site, and tell us the clip ID, and why you think the chimp in it might match Baron (or whatever chimp you were looking for) from the Known & Prospective List. This guide -- "I've found a chimpanzee, now what do I do?" -- reiterates some of the above and has step by step instructions on how to write about what you've found.

    Just one more thing to keep in mind... This can be very hard! Every once in a while there is a chimp that we just can't be sure about, or another where we think we're sure but then it turns out to be wrong! And that's 100% okay! All of us volunteers, and the Science Team, are here to work together and learn from each other. The most important (and rewarding) thing is to keep trying.

    We're always looking for ways to make things easier and more enjoyable for Chimp & See'ers, and there are no stupid questions and ideas. So, if you're having a problem with something or want to make a suggestion -- please please let us know! Your input is crucial to ensure we're giving you what you need to do this important work!

    Thanks, everyone! 😄

    Posted

  • puddock by puddock in response to ksigler's comment.

    Very helpful - thanks!

    Posted