In the wild, lowland gorillas mainly constitute one-male units comprising an adult male (the silverback), several adult females and their offspring (Fleagle 2013). Here, we report and describe a rare case of adult–adult play in captive lowland gorillas that was observed between the silverback and an adult female. In lowland gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla), social play plummets when approaching sexual maturity and is virtually absent between adults (Stewart and Harcourt 1987 Palagi et al. Although infrequent, social play in adult mountain gorillas ( Gorilla beringei beringei) has mainly been reported between mature males living in multi-male or bachelor groups (Yamagiwa 1992 Watts and Pusey 1993 Grueter et al. 2004 Cordoni and Palagi 2011 Yamanashi et al. In chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes), adult–adult playful interactions are less frequent compared to bonobos, although they can still be observed as a means for reducing social tension and strengthening affiliative bonds (Palagi et al. 2006 Palagi and Paoli 2007 Palagi and Cordoni 2012). In bonobos ( Pan paniscus), adult–adult play remains relatively frequent across different sex/age-class combinations and contexts (Palagi et al. 2018), but the level of play during adulthood varies greatly depending on the species. 2007 Cordoni and Palagi 2011 Palagi and Cordoni 2012 Cordoni et al. This finding supports the diverse causal and functional nature of adult social play behaviour in primates.Īfrican great apes show frequent and quite stable levels of social play in the immature phase (Fagen 1981 Palagi et al. basal metabolic rate), socio-ecological (e.g. Following a phylogenetic logistic regression analysis, O’Meara and colleagues ( 2015) could not single out any correlations between the maintenance of play in adulthood and metabolic (e.g. Conversely, adult–adult play has been described in only about 50% of primate species (Pellis and Iwaniuk 1999, 2000). In human and non-human primates, social play is widespread among immature individuals and is considered the main social interaction characterizing the juvenile developmental phase (Fairbanks 2000 Cordoni and Palagi 2011). It is likely that under particular physiological or socio-ecological conditions, adult–adult play may be manifested as an “unconventional” part of gorilla social behaviour. In conclusion, this report confirms that the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. The proportion of offensive patterns was higher in the female during play and in the male during aggression, which conforms to the role reversal play phenomenon. Structurally, play sessions showed a suitable degree of pattern variability and switching frequency from one pattern to another. Certainly, we cannot exclude the possibility that the play event is a group idiosyncrasy or an artefact of captivity, even though the subjects never showed abnormal behaviour. The fact that play invitations were always performed by the female might support this hypothesis. Moreover, the motivation of the lactating female to play might be an effect of oxytocin, a hormone that reaches high concentration levels during lactation and that promotes social affiliation. Hence, the probability of social interaction (including play) between silverback and adult females was enhanced. In our group, contrary to what has been shown by previous studies in wild and captive gorillas, adult females spent more time in spatial proximity with the silverback than with other females. Given the diverse causal and functional nature of play, different factors may join in promoting this behaviour. We recorded three playful interactions between the silverback and an adult lactating female. Here, we report an extremely rare case of adult–adult play observed in the lowland gorilla group housed at La Vallée de Singes (France). Streithorst enjoys photographing many of the animals, but said, Harambe “became my favorite,” adding “I’m going to miss that guy.” The photographer explained, “he just seemed to love the camera” and seemed so human.Ĭlick through to see a selection of Streithorst’s favorite photos of Harambe.Among African great apes, play is virtually absent between adult lowland gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla). He quickly became a favorite of amateur photographer Robert Streithorst who visited the zoo regularly after his retirement, often once or twice a week. The silverback, born at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas on May 27, 1999, was a relatively recent resident at the Cincinnati Zoo, arriving there in April 2014. The zoo fatally shot the 400-pound male gorilla to rescue the boy. Harambe, a western lowland gorilla, was killed the day after his 17th birthday at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden on May 28, 2016, after a 3-year-old child fell into the gorilla enclosure and was dragged around its moat by Harambe.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |