A recent study on chimpanzees in Taï National Park in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa, revealed that chimpanzees are losing traditions of male mating gestures. This coincides with declining chimpanzee populations due to human activity, according to an article posted to Phys.org. The loss of traditional chimpanzee social and cultural behaviors within groups may never be recovered even if population numbers return to healthier states.
What’s happening?
Like other wildlife species, including koalas and polar bears, chimpanzees are threatened by habitat loss. Human activity — such as deforestation from logging, mining, and agriculture — destroys chimpanzee habitats. As a result, chimpanzees are forced into small areas of the forest where they are more vulnerable to poaching (to be kept as exotic pets or used as bushmeat, as the International Fund for Animal Welfare reported).
They are also forced to resort to alternative food sources, such as bat guano, which could increase the risk of communicable diseases and reduce the population.
Male chimpanzees use specific mating request gestures, such as the “knuckle knock” or “heel click,” to signal to female chimpanzees that they are ready for reproductive activities.
According to the recent chimpanzee study, chimpanzees in the North group used the “knuckle knock” widely before the year 2004. But North group male chimpanzees have not used the “knuckle knock” gesture in over 20 years now.
This may be due to the loss of male chimpanzee role models who would otherwise carry on the traditional mating request gesture. In 2008, the last adult male chimpanzee of the North group was killed by a poacher, the study found, wiping out any male role models to teach younger generations the local group’s traditional signal.
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Studying the development of communicative gestures within groups and between neighboring groups, the study authors found that variance in mating gestures and signals indicated “socially learned dialects in chimpanzees, evidence that has rarely been demonstrated before,” senior author Catherine Crockford said, per Phys.org.
Why are declining chimpanzee populations notable?
Chimpanzees are listed as endangered species under the Intentional Union for the Conservation of Nature, according to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation. Declining chimpanzee populations could mean the risk of losing these species forever, disrupting the balance of local ecosystems and potentially leading to further species extinctions.
The recent study also revealed that the effects of a dip in population may be long-lasting even if the decline is temporary. For example, though North group male chimpanzee numbers have “returned to levels comparable to when the gesture was last observed,” the gesture has not returned, the study found. The behavior has been lost for the entire group.
What’s being done to protect chimpanzees?
Conservation groups like the World Wildlife Fund are working to establish protected areas in parts of Africa where chimpanzees naturally roam and live. Advocates are also petitioning government stakeholders and training law enforcement officers to disrupt the chimpanzee poaching trade, the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance reported.
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