 |
In
this series, we share our gorilla research and care activities
with you through the following features:
1)
Caregiver Corner (what
it's like to interact and communicate with gorillas Koko, Ndume
and Michael)
2) Research Revelations
(what we're learning through interspecies communication and
what it means for humanity)
prepared
by our staff under the supervision of Dr. Penny Patterson, Director
of Research. (Journal PhotoBlog
Archive) |
|
| Gorillas Just Wanna Have Fun |
September 26, 2002 |
|
 |
Dr.
Francine "Penny" Patterson has a Ph.D. in Developmental
Psychology from Stanford. She is President and Research
Director of The Gorilla Foundation, and a Member
of the Board of ApeNet - a consortium of foundations
supporting the welfare of great apes through interspecies
communication. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of
"Gorilla, the journal of The Gorilla Foundation/Koko.org."
"Penny's Journal" provides insight into her facinating
relationship with Koko and a way to share with us
her experiences as Koko lives, learns and communicates
"The
differences between humans and gorillas are greatly
overshadowed by what we have in common — and by
communicating with them, we can learn as much about
our own true nature as theirs." Penny Patterson |
|
|
|
An ethologist colleague, Jonathan Balcombe, Ph.D., wrote recently requesting material for his book on animal pleasure. He believes that such a book would strengthen society's sense of moral responsibility toward other animals. DeeAnn Draper, a gorilla caregiver and food preparation manager, submitted the following observations and I wanted to share them with you:
"The obvious and continuous demonstrations of gorilla pleasure occur at the anticipation or sight of food. The more subtle, non-food-involved demonstrations of pleasure usually have to do with play behavior or, in Koko's and Michael's case, laughter at funny or fun activities or situations.
"Gorillas can laugh uncontrollably when they are tickled (see Koko photo). Ndume purrs when I scratch his back.
"In my mind, I often replay an exchange Ndume and I had, just sitting in his room. Ndume has quite a sense of fun. I was sitting in the hall while he sat in his B room. Both of us had our backs to the west wall. We were looking at each other sideways, when I quickly did a head turn and looked straight ahead. I slowly turned my head back toward Ndume, and noticed a slight grin on his face. Then he did a quick head turn to look straight ahead, his grin widening. I copied him. We slowly turned back toward each other, his grin now a smile. We repeated this twice more, each time his smile got bigger. The last time we turned back toward each other, he purred and stomped his feet on the ground.
"While playing with Michael indoors, we would often play tug or a little game of chase. He was a completely different gorilla indoors in comparison to his demeanor outdoors. Outdoors he was in charge, often patrolling the yards, alert to any noises in the surrounding forest, road or even the houses across the road. In other words, he was serious and on the job. He would play chase with us and be a little playful, but nothing in comparison with his indoor behavior.
"Indoors, Michael would feed one end of a blanket to us through the mesh. He would only pull on the blanket as hard as the person on the other end. Of course he could easily take the blanket if he wanted to, but the game lasted much longer if he showed restraint - and he did. I remember one indoor play session in particular that started like many others, with a game of tug. Michael gave me one end of a soft blanket, then started his play invitation/enjoyment gesture - ‘bite-palm.’ His various play invitation/enjoyment gestures were: sham chewing on the heel of his hand, on his thumb, on his wrist or even the back of his hand occasionally. He really got into the game that day, tugging and chewing, chewing and tugging. Then he started to laugh. He laughed continuously for about 10 minutes as we tugged. He got me laughing and we fed off each other's joyous mood for quite some time. This is the type of behavior that most people, even people who work with gorillas for years, never see.
"Koko has another dimension to her enjoyment. Since Koko understands English as well as sign language, she has fun with sounds. She likes rhyming poetry, makes plays on words (ie. Koko + nut = coconut) and makes jokes (ie. putting a straw to her nose and calling herself a ‘thirsty elephant’). She also laughs at slap-stick humor (eg, we do something clumsy like trip or drop something). She always seems to get a chuckle out of us making comments about Ndume (or Michael) getting into trouble."
DeeAnn's observations seem especially resonant to me today, after just returning from the ChimpanZoo Conference, where I and several other ape language and behavior researchers compared notes and reports about the propensity of apes to play. This is clearly something we have in common with the other great apes, and the more we observe them, the more we remember what's really important in life.
Penny
PS: Stay tuned for a funny little video clip featuring Koko and me playing. We'll put a link on this page, the Koko.org homepage and on KokoTV, when it's ready.
|
Please
email us at research_feedback@koko.org
if you have any questions, or would like to share an observation
or insight about the preceding interspecies conversations.
Your feedback can inform our research and is a vital part
of our mission.
Thank you,
Dr. Francine Penny Patterson
<< Previous Entry
|
Next Entry >>
Journal Archive (Photo Blog)
Current
eNewsLetter
with The
Gorilla Foundation |
The Foundation
- How to Help - Maui
Preserve - Koko's World - Kids
Club - KokoMart
KokoMail - About
Gorillas - News - Faq
- Sponsors - Home
- Search - Site
Map
Contact Us
© Copyright
2007 The Gorilla Foundation / Koko.Org. All
rights reserved.
|
|
