Behavioral observation of two primate species at Sacramento Zoo

Sacramento Zoo Observations

Chimpanzee (Pan troglodystes) and Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus abelli)

When I was at the Sacramento Zoo, I observed many animals, including primates. At this time, I chose to further expand on my observations of the Chimpanzee (Pan troglodystes) and Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus abelli).

At this time of observation; I can only see four of the five chimpanzees, two females and two males. Of the five chimpanzees, it seems that the extra female chimpanzee is missing from my observations. According to the Sacramento Zoo, there are a total of five chimpanzees- with three females and two males. Although it is difficult to tell from the distance that we were at, the females are slightly smaller than the males. I would assume that the males would also be heavier since they are larger. Unfortunately, there are no blatantly obvious characteristics that distinguished the males from the females and vice versa from our observations.

During my seven to ten-minute observation of the Chimpanzee, I noticed that they acted very much like humans. They were interacting with each other a great deal-it seemed that they were playing with each other in that they would sometimes let their limbs lay on one another or playfully hit one another. Also, the close proximity that the chimpanzees had to each other highlighted their highly social nature as two of the chimps were grooming each other in the tree branch. They seem highly communicative and they are constantly "talking" to each other. In the last minute or so, I observed one of the chimps eating a small half-eaten apple of the floor, which was quite fascinating, as it held the apple like a human would, definitely showing the similarities between primates and humans.