Infanticide & Chimps
"...infanticide is a recurring feature of their complex social lives...both in captivity and in the wild", says Jason G. Goldman in Scientific American opinion piece triggered by the recent LA Zoo chimp infanticide witnessed by Zoo visitors.
"If the keepers had intervened, it is possible that journalists would be reporting the death of the keepers in addition to the young infant."
In a zoo, a "group of social primates can intimately observe the lives of a second group of social primates."
"Zoogoers need to remember that nature is not all rainbows and unicorns."
"One of the most impressive examples of cooperation in chimpanzees is the way they work together in intricate choreography as they hunt colobus monkeys...at times nature is indeed “red in tooth and claw,” as Tennyson famously wrote."
"Zoos can be fun, educational, awe-inspiring places. Curated and presented correctly, they can inspire children and adults to appreciate and learn more about the natural world." "But we cannot expect animals to act anything other than naturally..."
"More predictable critters can be found at Disneyland..."
"If the keepers had intervened, it is possible that journalists would be reporting the death of the keepers in addition to the young infant."
In a zoo, a "group of social primates can intimately observe the lives of a second group of social primates."
"Zoogoers need to remember that nature is not all rainbows and unicorns."
"One of the most impressive examples of cooperation in chimpanzees is the way they work together in intricate choreography as they hunt colobus monkeys...at times nature is indeed “red in tooth and claw,” as Tennyson famously wrote."
"Zoos can be fun, educational, awe-inspiring places. Curated and presented correctly, they can inspire children and adults to appreciate and learn more about the natural world." "But we cannot expect animals to act anything other than naturally..."
"More predictable critters can be found at Disneyland..."
Labels: chimpanzee, infanticide, Jason Goldman, LA Zoo, Scientific American
posted by Russ Williams at
2:06 PM
2 Comments:
Nobody in their right mind would expect a zoo keeper to go in and physically grab chimps and separate them. When zoo keepers introduce a new lion, they stand by with high pressure water hoses. That's how they break-up fights. Great example: remember the NC Zoo sent one of the male lions to the Louisville Zoo? Well, (I was told while visiting the Louisville Zoo) the females put a whoopin' on him and they separated them using a high pressure water hose.
Agreed...unless the person "in their right mind" has been misinformed by popular media and thinks chimps are not powerful, dangerous, wild.
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