Etta,Taiga,Sekai,Fem(+infs)--4 lovely ladies + youngsters

• by lauraklynn moderator

  ACP000gfo5 and ACP000gfo6
  Here we have a total of 9 chimps (from what I can tell). Four females carrying offspring and one older juvenile.

  The first pair looks a little like Etta and her infant, though the quality isn't good enough for me to make a positive match.

  I know they pass by quickly, but perhaps we can positively ID a few of them.

  Posted January 28, 2017 1:09 AM

• by Batfan

  Too indistinct to make any matches but just idly wondering if they could be the same group that I came across this morning? A group of females with infants on their backs and an older juvenile. ACP000fscg

  Posted January 28, 2017 4:30 PM

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

  That's difficult to say @Batfan. You may have noticed that the timestamp of your video is from August 2014 and the videos above are from January 2015. Some of them might be the same but from this distance it's hard to tell.

  One of the females in ACP000fscg carries her infant ventrally and she's got a gray back and legs and a juvenile is following her. So this might be Makena. But I don't think that I see her in the other videos.

  Maybe Paula or Nuria could tell something about the group behaviour of females in general? How they form or how and why they stay together? Or point us to an existing thread or article about it. Thanks! 😉

  Posted January 28, 2017 5:16 PM

• by Batfan

  Thanks @Boleyn. Duh. Forgot to check the time stamp so, I agree, unlikely to be the same group - I just got a bit carried away!

  I also agree, it would be really interesting to know a bit more about the group behaviour of females so, if there is an existing thread / article somewhere, I'd really appreciate being pointed towards it at some point.

  Posted January 28, 2017 5:59 PM

• by jwidness moderator

  I can't actually remember if we've had a thread about this (someone should feel free to add a link if we have), and not to preclude a response from Paula or Nuria, but I'll put in a little info to get started.

  A number of factors influence party size and composition in chimpanzees, including overall community size, predation pressure, food abundance and density (clumped food=clumped females), female parity (number of kids) and current reproductive state (cycling/pregnant/lactating), and individual level social preferences. In general, females are regarded as less social than males, however, there is variation across different study sites, and at some sites they may spend over half of their time together with other adult females. Female-female aggression is not as common as male-male aggression, but adult females have been known to kill infants of other moms in their community, so females with young infants in particular have reason to avoid other females. On the other hand, a mom can get the benefit of social time (grooming/playing/etc.), both for herself and her offspring, by associating with other females.

  Some literature on this topic:

  Langergraber, Kevin, John Mitani, and Linda Vigilant. "Kinship and social bonds in female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)." American Journal of Primatology 71.10 (2009): 840-851.

  Pusey, Anne E., and Kara Schroepfer-Walker. "Female competition in chimpanzees." Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 368.1631 (2013): 20130077.

  Riedel, Julia, Mathias Franz, and Christophe Boesch. "How feeding competition determines female chimpanzee gregariousness and ranging in the Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire." American Journal of Primatology 73.4 (2011): 305-313.

  Townsend, Simon W., et al. "Female-led infanticide in wild chimpanzees." Current Biology 17.10 (2007): R355.

  Wakefield, Monica L. "Grouping patterns and competition among female Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda." International Journal of Primatology 29.4 (2008): 907.

  Wakefield, Monica L. "Social dynamics among females and their influence on social structure in an East African chimpanzee community." Animal Behaviour 85.6 (2013): 1303-1313.

  Watts, David P. "The apes: taxonomy, biogeography, life histories, and behavioral ecology." The evolution of primate societies. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2012): 113-141.

  Wittiger, Livia, and Christophe Boesch. "Female gregariousness in Western Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) is influenced by resource aggregation and the number of females in estrus." Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 67.7 (2013): 1097-1111.

  Posted January 29, 2017 2:31 AM

• by AnLand moderator

  It might also be that they just travel to/from a food source. In the rainforests only some trees of a kind have ripe fruits at any one time, not all at the same time as in seasonal forests. So, it would be natural that they form bigger groups as they all have the same goal. I guess water sources are not that precious here in the forest.

  To start looking into identities:

  I agree with @lauraklynn that the first female in ACP000gfo5 is Etta. In fact, the little nick in her ear (middle part) is well seen and I don't have any doubt.

  

  The second female (visible in ACP000gfo6) is in my opinion Taiga. Her infant is considerably smaller (it's a good comparison here). The eye mask is a bit lighter. Her eyes are rather close together. She has a gray beard, long nipples, and straight, but rather short brows. The face is rounder (not just broad) as Etta's.

  

  At the moment, I don't have any other ideas. I mentioned before that I think Taiga has often an older juvenile with her as well, but I am not sure whether the one present has any business with her or any other.

  Posted January 29, 2017 8:28 AM

• by Boleyn moderator

  The first is Etta, I agree. We can also see the marks in her right brow and the infant has this darker part under the nose. As for the others I'm not sure enough to make any guess here.

  @Batfan, no problem, I know that feeling very well of being carried away 😄 😉

  Posted January 29, 2017 4:33 PM

• by Batfan

  Thanks all for your comments and information. Will mug up a little more , then try and come back with some more constructive suggestions!

  Posted January 29, 2017 5:26 PM

• by PauDG scientist, moderator

  Thanks all for your comments, and thanks @jwidness for the literature 😉

  I agree with the proposals, Etta is the first one and Taiga (AVFem07, 12,13,14) is the second one.

  Posted January 30, 2017 8:39 AM

• by AnLand moderator

  This video ACP000gfo6 reappeared in the Recents and I wonder whether we agreed here on Etta and Taiga as they are not tagged.

  I also thought about whether the last female might be Raj. But I have not really a trait to point to here.

  Posted April 9, 2017 4:17 PM

• by PauDG scientist, moderator

  Hi AnLand. Actually I think that the first is Etta and the second Taiga. The 3rd I am not sure.... and the last one, I would say is Desta, because I think I can see the scar in the left eyebrow of the juvenile with her. What do you think?

  Posted April 10, 2017 9:33 AM

• by AnLand moderator

  Yes, I agree with Etta first and Taiga second. I just wondered as you did not tag until now. For three I have no idea and about the last: I thought Desta had this deformed ear (flat on the top). I cannot see this here, that's why I thought about Raj.

  Posted April 10, 2017 5:13 PM

• by squish5

  

  I think this is a good match for last chimp as proposed by @AnLand. ACP000gfo6 main pic with Raj insert from ACP000eqwc

  Posted April 10, 2017 7:50 PM

• by PauDG scientist, moderator

  Hi all,

  I am wondering if the 3rd female in ACP000gfo6 (from now AVFem05b) could be AVFem05. She is the only female with infant we have without a match. She looks quite young, not bald...

  And maybe the first female in ACP000g4dj (from now AVFem05c) is also her.

  What do you think?

  Posted April 11, 2017 9:21 AM

• by PauDG scientist, moderator

  I still thinking about the 4rd one 😉

  Posted April 11, 2017 9:30 AM

• by Boleyn moderator

  hmm...the 4rd one is really tough. I'm also still thinking about them. Raj ought to have quite grey legs when we look at the b/w videos...

  No. 3 could be a match, Paula. In Sept. 14 she's carrying ventrally and now 4 months later she carries dorsally but the infant is still quite small. The roundish head fits as well.

  Posted April 11, 2017 6:12 PM

• by AnLand moderator

  I need to look into that later more. I'm struggling here now myself.

  Posted April 11, 2017 9:21 PM

• by PauDG scientist, moderator

  Thanks both!

  Posted April 12, 2017 10:54 AM

• by PauDG scientist, moderator

  Hi all,

  I would like to talk again about AVFem05, 5b and 5c. I still thinking they are the same, and @Bolyen agreed (right?). Is there anyone against this match?

  Thanks!!! 😄

  Posted May 2, 2017 8:04 AM

• by NuriaM scientist, moderator

  hi,

  I must admit that this one is not easy, but I´d like to weigh in here.

  I think AVFem05, 05b and 05c are a reasonable match. I see in all three a young female with pretty thin limbs, round ears but the left one seems to have a smal notch. Straight brows and like @Boleyn said, the infants size fits too.

  Posted May 4, 2017 9:24 AM

• by PauDG scientist, moderator

  Thank you Nuria!

  Heidi ( @Boleyn), would you like to select a name for her? Thanks

  Posted May 4, 2017 10:53 AM

• by ksigler moderator

  Whew! Glad this was decided on. I looked and looked yesterday, but could not decide myself. Pick a good one, @Boleyn (or whoever names her)! 😃

  Posted May 4, 2017 2:24 PM

• by Boleyn moderator

  Thank you so much Paula, of course I'm glad to name her!

  What do you guys think about Sekai? This is a Southern African girls name and means "funny". I really think she's quite the amuser. It's so funny how she tickles Etta's baby here ACP000fxpm and even Etta as well here ACP000fxpn . I just love these videos because the chimps seem so relaxed and at ease. 😄

  Posted May 9, 2017 8:23 PM

• by PauDG scientist, moderator

  I love the name! Sounds like a karate kata, hahahah , and the meaning fits perfectly. Thanks a lot Heidi!

  Posted May 10, 2017 7:46 AM

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

  LOL - Sekai the karate chimp! 😛

  Posted May 10, 2017 11:44 AM

• by AnLand moderator

  ACP000gfo5 - has 7 chimps (a juvenile is there too, maybe Marini). I added #needCID

  Posted October 25, 2017 7:02 PM

• by PauDG scientist, moderator

  right, thanks!! not sure if it is Marini though 😉

  Posted October 26, 2017 8:19 AM