Chimpanzees are social primates, they live in large communities. But, unlike primates that live in troops like baboons, chimpanzees have fission-fusion societies. This means the entire community may never be in one place, smaller parties constantly split off (fission) and come back together (fusion). Pictured above is part of a large party, kids, moms, adult males, and others all travel and socialize together.
As a researcher, this means that sometimes we won’t see a particular chimp for weeks. An individual might decide to go off on their own. As weeks turn into months, this can make us anxious. Are they okay? Sometimes, longer absences means a chimp is on consort, a male and female off together * nudge nudge wink wink. *
When I arrived this summer, an older male had gone missing. Bartok (45) hadn’t been seen for nearly two months. Then suddenly…
Bartok is back!! This guy is former alpha, chimp royalty. Known for his political astuteness, Bartok's reign was considerable. These days, he hasn’t lost much swagger, but has a freckly bald forehead, white beard, and stiff fingers. His big return a few days ago was met with great excitement by the other chimps. Meanwhile, us researchers had to appear more reserved, but we're pretty excited too.
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