Positively Primates

Volume 10 The Newsletter of the DuMond Conservancy for Primates and Tropical Forests 2004

A simian that smiles By DR. SIÂN EVANS, DuMOND CONSERVANCY he best garden I have ever had lay a little south of on. Students from Florida International University’s T the equator in Africa. It was ringed by hundreds of Biology Department have had the opportunity to study spiky pineapple plants and overlooked a patch of this group. Mandrills are extremely facially expressive tropical rainforest. The branches of the trees in the forest and Evgenia Gonzalez was able to photograph and docu- would occasionally quiver, announcing the presence of ment high levels of the mandrill smile that resembles the inhabitants of this lush patch. For most of the day a human smile but also reveals the dagger-like canines these inhabitants were hidden by of a male mandrill. While the smile of a the dense canopy, but at dusk, their male mandrill can look pretty intimidat- identity was revealed and magnifi- ing, it is frequently used to communicate cent mandrills climbed into their submission and is accompanied by a sleeping trees. Because mandrills characteristic shaking of the head from are terrestrial and spend their days side to side. Classmates of Evgenia, Leidy navigating either the relatively open Perez and Jessica Hayward, investigated ground of primary rainforest or the aimed throwing by Cecil. Cecil had been tangled undergrowth of secondary observed to throw a rock through a hang- rainforest, I did not see my neigh- ing tire and Jessica and Leidy were able bors until they sought the safety of to train Cecil to perform this behavior on a forked branch in the canopy to command. The younger juvenile mandrills rest for the night. were intrigued by the training sessions and quickly picked up on the required Mandrills are found in Equatorial task but they were not quite as accurate West Africa from Southern Cam- with their aims as Cecil was! eroon to the Congo. The scien- tific name for mandrills is Papio It is delightful to be able to stroll over sphinx and they are closely related from my office at any time of the day to the baboons that inhabit the Cecil Robertson Troy Photo: and enjoy the entertaining antics of our open savannas of sub Saharan mandrill group. I no longer have to wait Africa. They are remarkable because of their brilliant, for dusk to appreciate their beauty and I also enjoy the sometimes iridescent, red and blue faces and rumps. opportunity to observe them at very close quarters and Mandrills show great sexual dimorphism and males and become acquainted with their different personalities. females can be easily distinguished by their differences in color and size. Males are much larger than females For further reading: Lahm, Sally A. 1977 “Devils of and have longer canines and the female’s pigmenta- the Forest.” Wildlife Conservation Magazine M/A: 30- tion on her face and rump is dull in comparison to the 35. male’s. VALERIE KESSLER Despite their memorable appearance, mandrills have been We were all saddened by the death of very difficult to study in nature because they are very elu- our friend Valerie Kessler and miss her visits to Monkey sive. Recently, there have been surprising observations in Jungle. However, thanks to Gabon in the dry season that recorded enormous groups a trust fund established by of mandrills, as many as 800 monkeys, traveling across Valerie, she continues to help savanna. At other times of the year mandrills are believed us improve our care and to live in much smaller groups. extend our knowledge of the primates she cared so deeply Mandrills are classified as endangered under the United about. Her husband recalls States Endangered Species Act and several U.S. zoos how Valerie was particularly exhibit successful breeding groups. A terrific group of entertained by one orangutan, seven mandrills, led by the breeding male, Cecil, has Lucy, who would gaze adoringly recently arrived at Monkey Jungle. Home for this group at her during her visits. Eventually of mandrills is a tall, spacious enclosure furnished with Valerie realized that Lucy was eye- ing rocks, poles, and boulders that provide the mandrills her hat and when Valerie gave her the hat, with a complex environment to climb, forage, and play the loving gazes ceased! Siamangs Sing and Panbanisha Plays the Piano By Mike Machr, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Megan L. Hoffman, Florida International University, Miami re the choruses of bos (Pan paniscus), Kanzi and Panbanisha, enjoy play- Achimpanzee pant- ing a variety of instruments including the drums, the hoots, the long calls harmonica, the xylophone, and the piano. Recently, we of male orangutans, and spoke with Jared Taglialatela, Research Associate at the the long calls of gibbons LRC, who described Panbanisha’s latest musical collab- precursors to modern-day oration with musician Peter Gabriel. Peter collaborated music? Thomas Geissmann on the first ever inter-species duet with Panbanisha. of the University of Zurich- Jared described this memorable event, “Dr. Savage Irchel provides compelling Rumbaugh was inside the cage with Panbanisha and Photo: Alan Mootnick Photo: Gibbon Conservation Center evidence that singing in asked her (in spoken English) to play a song. Panban- A siamang’s air sac non-human primates evolved isha then said ‘groom’ on her lixigram keyboard, and inflates when he sings independently several times Sue asked her to play a ‘grooming song.’ Peter had been throughout primate evolution from these loud calls playing some background music during this, and once used in territorial contexts. Arguably the most melodi- Panbanisha started striking keys, he responded on his ous and complex primate singing is the duetting of gib- piano.” The duet was called “The Grooming Song.” bons and siamangs. Gibbons and siamangs have been found to make the majority of their duets in response Further read- Welcome Home Marine Corps Lance to the calls of the neighboring gibbon groups, and some ing: The Corporal Evan Evans returned home research suggests that these pair duets help maintain Origins of safely from Iraq where he served with the monogamous pair bonds by driving off neighboring Music. Eds. the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion members of the opposite sex. Typically these infectious Wallin N, in Fallujah. Evan was a long-time Con- songs fill the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia in the Merker B, servancy volunteer and assisted with early morning hours and may last until noon. Brown S, MIT security at Monkey Jungle before joining Not only do some apes naturally produce music by Press, Cam- the Marine Corps in 2003. duetting with conspecifics, other apes have learned to bridge, Mass., make music using human-made instruments! At the 2001, ISBN Language Research Center (LRC) in Georgia, the bono- 0-262-73143-6,

GLOSSARY Tropical Rainforests are wooded areas in warm, wet climates with an abundance of diverse plant and animal life. Primary forests are undisturbed, with tall trees forming a canopy and little sunlight falls on the forest floor. However, secondary rainforest has been disturbed whether naturally (tree falls or fires) or unnaturally (clearing by humans) and is characterized by more sunlight, vines, and shorter trees. Volunteer Spotlight

Very special volunteers By Vjoica Capri, New College, New educational programs that that allows students to go out into From working side by side with help mentally challenged individu- the community and practice their zoo keeper Tim Johnson, Darrel has als function in society are a fresh skills. Students help in all sorts of gained a new sense of self-worth. perspective in education. One such activities ranging from preparing Tim has benefitted from the help of program has bolstered the self- primate meals and maintaining an assistant who follows directions confidence of mentally challenged cages to caring for and learning and understands the importance of students at Southridge High School about the different species living in quality work. in Miami. This program uses a new Monkey Jungle. The students very Monkey Jungle provides a rou- approach in preparing these stu- much look forward to their weekly tine and familiar environment that dents to enter the job world. This trip to Monkey Jungle and they are is perfect for this level of learning program is a community-based more optimistic about entering the and helps prepare the students for instruction that is rooted not in job world. the work environment when they typical high school-related subjects, One particular student, Darrel graduate from high school. but instead in learning functional Davis, is a senior at Southridge and living skills. has improved substantially in both Thanks to all the students and Monkey Jungle offers a supple- his work production and his per- teachers, Mr. Norris Joyner and Ms. mentary program once a week ception of what he can accomplish. Celeste Cobbs.

2 Positively Primates ByThe Dr. Bennett right L. Scjhwartz,touch! Florida International University, Miami

fter a horrible auto accident at the young age of 18, until it can do more complex tasks. Capuchins can be AKim Torbitt became a quadriplegic, a condition in trained to select any food container from a refrigerator, which all movement of the arms and legs are lost. place it in the microwave for heating, and then re-posi- He was completely unable to do the everyday things tion the containers for feeding. Helping Hands only uses that the rest of us take for granted, such as brushing his positive reinforcement; the capuchin is never physically teeth, scratching an itch, or putting a videotape in the punished or deprived of food. Tasks are based on the VCR. Then, along came Mymu, a tufted capuchin (Cebus kinds of activities that capuchin monkeys enjoy in play, apella), trained by Helping Hands, a non-profit organiza- such as manipulating objects, grooming, and inserting tion based in Boston, Massachusetts. Mymu became part or undoing objects. After a year of training at Helping of Kim’s family, providing him with a sense of indepen- Hands, they are then placed with a quadriplegic. Helping dence and a bond of friendship. Cebus monkeys may Hands continues to monitor the progress of each monkey live up to 25 to 30 years. Thus, for many quadriplegics, a throughout its life. bond between an individual capuchin and a person can The idea behind Helping Hands is not without its crit- last for a long time. ics. Many animal rights activists argue that removing a Helping Hands was conceived by Dr. Mary Joan Wil- baby capuchin from its mother to be raised by people lard, former research assistant of the great behavioral is inhumane. Moreover, they argue that the capuchin is psychologist, B. F. Skinner. Using standard behavior forced to live in a world without any of its own kind. modification techniques, capuchins are trained to follow Finally, some describe the capuchins’ training as an voice commands as well as follow directions from a laser intense training regimen, although training procedures printer that the person operates with mouth controls. are designed to be fun and positive, and training never This allows a person to do many things that he or she involves any punishment or cruelty. These critics view could not otherwise do without a human helper. Towards monkey helpers and companions as wild animals acting the end of training, each capuchin is matched to an indi- as servants to humans. vidual who is suited to the abilities and limitations of the Nonetheless, for the quadriplegics, their capuchin monkey. The monkey is then trained to help with specific friends are invaluable. The capuchins provide a critical tasks customized for that particular individual, such as gift to the quadriplegics. With their monkeys, people scratching itches, repositioning a hand after a muscle are able to do many things that they can no longer do spasm, computer-related tasks, etc. by themselves. Given that many people spend much To become a “helping hand,” each monkey is raised in of the day by themselves at home, having a capuchin a human family from early infancy to four to five years. to turn the pages of a book or scratch an annoying itch When monkeys are mature enough, they leave their fam- greatly increases their quality of life. However, for the ily and go to Helping Hands’ training center in Boston. human being, the greatest benefit is not just the ben- Once in Boston, they undergo a year of training for their efits of greater independence, but the bonds of friend- job as the hands for human quadriplegics. Training is ship between the capuchin and the person. Capuchins accomplished by the behavioral technique of shaping, are highly intelligent monkeys, each with its own that is, gradually reinforcing the behavior of the capuchin personality. The capuchins become best friends, not just

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Positively Primates 3 Gorilla memories By Megan Hoffman, Florida InternationalUniversity

s human beings we are capable of mentally travel- novel event took place. Aing back in time and consciously re-experiencing King watched as an experimenter performed a novel events from our past. This type of memory, known event at one of three locations outside of his enclosure. as episodic memory, is considered unique to humans. After an average delay of 6 minutes, King was asked However, researchers are now investigating whether where the event took place. The tester gave King three animals have episodic memory. Last year I began work- photo cards (one of which was the location where the ing with Dr. Bennett Schwartz on a series of experiments event occurred, and the other photos were of the other with King, the male western lowland gorilla at Monkey two locations). King returned a card to the tester and Jungle. In a typical experiment, King witnesses a novel if King was correct, he was reinforced with a piece of person performing a novel event. After a 5 to 10 minute fruit. interval, King is given three photo cards (one of the per- King chose the correct location 45% of the time, which son who actually performed the event, and two other is greater than what would be predicted if King was individuals). King is asked to return the photo of the just guessing. However, King was much more accurate person who performed the event. King has shown above (60%) at remembering the location where he was not chance accuracy at identifying the “who” components of accustomed to having visitors, but he was less accu- these unique events. rate at remembering the other two locations, where he Is King also capable of remembering “where” a novel frequently had human visitors. It appears that novel event occurred? Because gorillas are mainly herbivores, events, such as a person appearing where they normal- gorillas in the wild need to remember where preferred ly would not, were more memorable to King than rou- plant foods are located in space, in order to return there tine events. These results suggest that King is accurate at a later time. I conducted an experiment, examining at remembering “where” information, especially when whether King was capable of communicating where a the location is novel.

Special thanks to all of our friends and volunteers

Dr. Suzanne Banas Sylvia Diaz-Verson Steve Jacques and the staff at Publix Supermarkets Bari and Lori Blum Peter D’Oench Monkey Jungle Troy Robertson Deborah Brown Alex and Andrew DuMond Bob Jensen Jesse Rosenthal Dr. & Mrs. Roger Brumback Doug and Marcia DuMond Dr. Peter Judge Isabel Sanchez Cristina Y Mark Bryn Seren Evans Frank & Mary Julio Dr. Dan Schmitt Roger Carlton First National Bank of South The Kessler Family Dr. Bennett Schwartz & Family Naomi Castellon Florida Keri Kowaleswski Foster and Carol Schwartz Caryn Chambers FIU biology department students Dr. Chriss Miller Charles and Heather Southwick Melanie Colon Dr. Roy Fontaine Sandy Nadler Dr. Linda Taylor & Students Alyson Collado Robert Fuchs Steven Nash University of Miami Dr. Bob Cooper Chad Gill Pamela M. Pampe Dr. Chris Wall Michael Coronado Dr. Thomas Goldsmith Erin Amelia Pampe Richard and Andrée Wilson Willy Cotto Dr. Pat Gullet Robert A. Pampe Christy Wolovich Abigail Cristobal Chandra Isaac Adele & Wolfgang Panofsky Dr. Anne Zeller Gabriela DeLaCruz A. M. Mamunul Islam Ted & Marilyn Panofsky

DuMond Conservancy 14805 SW 216 Street Miami, FL 33170 305-238-9981 www.dumondconservancy.org

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