Observation: Chimpanzee vs White Cheeked Gibbon
An observation was conducted at Lincoln Park Zoo of two species of Apes. The
observation was of Chimpanzee and White Cheeked Gibbon. All the observation
took place in the morning when the species were active and very play full. The
observation covered the characteristics of the species with their comparison
and also their behaviors.
Characteristics of species one-Chimpanzee
Chimpanzees are classified under mammals in the order of primates. Their Latin
name is Pan Troglodytes. They can reach up to 3 to 4 ½ feet in height and they
weigh between 100 and 150 pounds. The male are heavier than the female. Baby
chimpanzees seemed to way between 3 to 5 pounds. It was observed that the
chimpanzees stay in group of 10 and more, the groups have more female than male
and at least three children. Their bodies are thickset with long arms and short
legs with no tail. The long arms grip firmly the trees when they are swinging.
Their bodies are covered with long black hair except for the ears, face,
fingers and toes. Some have whiskers on their chin. They also have flat face,
small nose and forward facing eyes.
They move in arboreal setting by swinging,
clinging and climbing to branches. They use their long arms to swing from
branch to branch. They have opposable thumbs except that they are shorter than
those of humans. Chimpanzees are quadruped, they move on all fours. When
walking, they use their knuckles for support with their finger half flexed.
This movement is because of the shorter legs and longer arms. They also have
opposable toes with good strength of griping. Chimps are capable of bipedal
locomotion. This means that they can walk upright on two legs other than using
the four limbs. They only do that when they need to carry something in their
hands. They spend same time in the ground compared to the time they spend in
the trees.
Characteristics of specie two- White Cheeked Gibbon
White Cheeked Gibbons are classified under mammals in the order of primates.
Their Latin name is Nomascus leucogenys. They can reach up to 18 to 25 inches
in height and they weigh between 10 and 20 pounds. The male are heavier than
the female. Baby Gibbons seemed to way between 1 to 2 pounds. It was observed
that the white cheeked gibbons live in small groups of five; the groups are
families of male, female and their children. Their bodies are lightly built
with long arms and legs with no tail. The long arms grip firmly the trees when
they are swinging. Their bodies are covered with fur with their head covered
with long fur. The male are black in color with a small part in the face around
the cheek is covered with white fur. The female are blonde. They have a flat face
and small nose.
They move in arboreal setting by
swinging, clinging and climbing to branches and also a style known as
brachiation. They form a loose hook around the branch that allows them move
through trees using hand over hand motion. They have opposable thumbs except
that they are shorter than those of humans. Their long hands and limbs can
allow them to cover more than 10 feet in one swing. White cheeked gibbons walk
on their hind legs suspending their arms to maintain balance. They rarely stay on
the ground.
Comparison of the two species
The two species have some similar characteristics. Both the chimps and white
cheeked gibbons are of the same classification of mammals and order of primate.
The both species do not have tails. They all are quadruped and bidruped. Both
male of the two species are black in color. The two species both have a flat
face and small nose.
The two species also have some
difference. The chimps are much heavier than the white cheeked gibbons. The
chimps have long arms and short limbs while the white cheeked gibbons have both
long arms and limbs. The chimps are covered with hair while the white cheeked
gibbons are covered with fur. The chimps support themselves using the knuckles
while swinging. The white cheeked gibbons on the other hand, use their arms to
maintain balance by suspending them while swinging,
Behavior of Chimpanzee
Based on ad libitum observation, it was noted that the chimpanzees live in
large groups. It was noted that they chew leaves. Chimpanzees also walk erect
for short distance. It was noted that they are agile climbers and are rest less
during the day. They love eating fruits and some eat insects by picking them
with twigs or grass stems. The female chimps do not like to stay where the sun
is direct to them. They also made various sound while jumping and swinging
especially in the morning.
During the focal sampling, each
activity of the species was given at most 15 minutes in order to learn who they
truly behave. It was observed that chimps live in large group consisting of
different male and female groups. The groups were very flexible. It was
observed that chimps chew leaves then dip them in water to suck out the
moisture in them. They also eat lots of fruits and insects. They used twigs and
grass stems to poke at ants and termite nests. Once the insects cling on them,
the chimps eat them. It was observed that during the day the chimps spend their
time in the ground and for short distances they walk using their limbs only. It
was also observed that they built nest high up in trees by bending branches and
intertwining them. Some chimps built their nests in the ground. It was observed
that the female avoided direct sun. For those seen exposed, their bare skin on
the bottom became swollen and pink. Most time when they were exposed to the
sun, it was an indication that they want to mate. It was noted that the chimps
like touching each other a lot and they kiss when meeting. They hold hands and
groom each other. They are very friendly and maintain good relationship among
themselves The female seemed to give their young ones much attention and also
they help in babysitting chores. It was noted that the chimpanzees produce loud
sound mainly for communication with each other. They also drum on hollow trees
and clap their hands. When they are angry, they stand upright and wave their
arms. They also throw branches or rocks to show they are angry.
The focal sampling method of
observation was much better compared to the ad libitum method. One could not
that the female’s bottoms turned color. It was not expected to find the chimps
kissing, something they do more often.
Behavior of species two
Based on ad libitum observation, it was noted that the white cheeked gibbons
stay in small family groups of five or less. It was noted that they eat lots of
leaves, flowers and insects. They spend all there time up in the trees swing
from branch to branch. It was noted that they love swinging in very tiny
branches. They love eating fruits and some eat insects by picking them with
twigs or grass stems. They also made various sound while jumping and swinging.
During the focal sampling, each
activity of the species was given at most 15 minutes in order to learn who they
truly behave. It was observed that chimps live in small; family groups consisting
of two matting team and an infant. . It was observed that they eat a lot of
leaves, insect and flowers. They also chased small birds. They spent most of
their time up in the tree swinging and searching for food. The female seemed to
give their young ones much concern. The young ones cling on their mother bottom
while breastfeed. Early in the morning the gibbons produces same vocal sound, a
tradition to them. It was also a sign of marking their boundaries by the males.
The white cheeked gibbons like grooming each other especially the hair. It was
also observed that they have a high sense of hearing. They also seemed to avoid
the water when they were in the ground.
The focal sampling method of
observation was best to describe the behavior of the white cheeked gibbons. It
was easy to note that they do not like water at all. They also did not like
staying on the ground, something it was not expected. It was noted that the
white cheeked bones chased bird, something unusual. It is hard to say they eat
birds but why would they be chasing them.
Comparison
There a lot of similarities between these two species. They both produce loud
sound in the morning. The female of these both two species give much attention
to their young ones. The males of these both species mark their territories by
producing loud and aggressive sounds. They both love grooming each other. The
difference between the two species is that that the chimps stay a lot on then
ground compared to the white cheeked bones which do not like at all. The chimps
are used been in water unlike the white cheeked gibbons who avoid water. The
chimps mate more than the white cheeked gibbons. It is also clear that chimps
stay in large groups of mixed groups while the white cheeked gibbons stay in
family groups. The chimps are each other, a behavior that is not seen in white
checked gibbons. The white cheeked gibbons are not as friendly as the
chimpanzees. The white cheeked gibbons do not build nest like the chimps. It
was also noted that chimps are friendly to humans compared to the white cheeked
gibbons. The chimps even tend to get close to human and you may be surprised by
them wanting to shake your hands. They also try interact and play with human
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