The document summarizes observations made during a visit to a zoo's orangutan and gorilla exhibits. Key points include: - The orangutans were separated into two exhibits, with one containing a mating pair and the other a lone male. Both males spent time wandering, foraging for food, and grooming themselves. - Interactions between humans and primates were also observed, such as parents shielding their children from witnessing orangutan mating and explaining hand size to their daughter. - Comparisons are made between the behaviors of the male orangutans and gorilla, such as dominance over females and searching for food. - Parallels are also drawn

1. PROJECT By Elizabeth Rodriguez

2. Part One: General Observations Part Two: Orangutan Social Behavior Part Three: Animal Comparisons Part Four: Human Behaviors Table of Contents

3. General Observations 1. A. What is a rhinarium? The rhinarium is the wet moist area of the nose of lower primates. It enables them to have a better sense of smell. B. Which primates have them? coquerel’s sifaka Part One

4. 2 . A. Why do primates vocalize? - They vocalize to attract or repel each other. Also for mating sounds. B. Which primate vocalizations did you observe? What did they seem to mean? - At first, I heard the gibbons making morning calls(they also make calls in the evening) from a distance. Then I observed them making aggressive calls because they were hungry. However, after they received their food, the calls seemed less aggressive and more as if they were claiming their territory. Gibbons also vocalize in order to assess social meetings.

5. 3. A. Why do primates groom each other? - They do this to help each other stay clean. Also to create bonds whether it is between mothers and infants, males and males, or just any other primate. B. Observe and describe this activity. - They take their time looking through fur and picking any type of waste or parasites on the skin. 4. A. What is a catarrhine nose? - It is a somewhat straight nose with a downward facing nostril. B. What does it look like? - It has nostrils that face downward. C. Which primates have it? - Monkeys, humans, apes, all old world monkeys that are from the non-Americas 5. A. What is a platyrrhine nose? - A nose with nostrils on the sides. B. What does it look like? - The noses are very wide. C. Which primates have it? - New mates, capuchin

6. 6. A. What is a prehensile tail? - It’s a long tail used for hanging/grasping. B. What can it do? - It is used so primates can hang themselves. C. Which primates have it? - New world monkeys (South American) 7. A. What is an ischial callosities for? - It allows primates to sit on rocks. B. What does it look like? - A small bump. C. Which primates have it? - All new world monkeys, chimpanzees 8. A. What is an opposable hallux? - A big toe. B. What does it look like? - A big toe. C. What primates have it? - Apes, monkeys, all primates other than humans 9. A. What is sexual skin? - The skin on a female that reveals she is in estrus. B. What does it indicate? - It means the female is in estrus, she is ovulating. C. Describe what it looks like and if you are able to observe mating or presenting behavior. - The sexual skin is on the genitals. It is swollen in texture, has a strong scent and is vibrant in color.

7. 11. A. What is New World Semi-Brachiation? - This is when primates use their tail as a third arm. They usually hang by their tails and move with their arms. B. Observe and describe this behavior in new world monkeys. - Spider monkeys move across trees and swing using both their arms and tail. The underneath part of their tail has no fur to make it easier for holding on to trees amongst other things. 10. A. What is Brachiation? - Brachiation is moving with the arms. B. Observe and describe this behavior in either gibbons or old world monkeys. - Gibbons swing across the trees with their long and extended arms.

8. 12. A. What is knuckle walking? - This Is when primates walk on primarily their knuckles. B. Observe and describe this behavior. - Gorillas use their back legs and forearms.Their knuckles have pads on them. 13. A. What is quadrumanous walking? - Primates use the sides of their hands for walking. B. Observe and describe this in orangutans. - They walk using the sides of their hands, picking themselves up and sort of swinging themselves forward and then use their legs to move forward and repeat.

9. 14. A. What is sexual dimorphism? - This is the differences between sexes. One example is size. B. Observe and describe at least one instance of this. - Male gorillas are twice the size of the female gorillas. 15. A. What is sexual dichromatism? - This is when the sexes are different in terms of color. B. Observe and describe at least one instance of this. -Gibbon females are cream while gibbon males are black.

10. Orangutan Social Behavior Part Two

11. How the design of the exhibit affects social behaviors… The orangutan exhibit is separated into two parts. The orangutans can only interact with those who are on the same side as them. However, in the wild these red apes usually travel alone anyway so being alone is of their nature. On one side there is a female and male. These two have been put together mainly for mating purposes, as I witnessed myself when visiting the zoo. When they finished having sex, they both went their separate ways. The female was out of sight and the male roamed the exhibit and eventually sat and ate some leaves. On the other side there is just one lonesome male. He wanders around the exhibit with what to me looked like an expression of boredom on his face. There really wasn’t any excitement. He walked around as if he had nothing to do and eventually sat and ate leaves. What I found interesting is that both males, although on opposite sides of the exhibit, wandered around the exhibit in search for food and both had found something to eat.

12. (grooming oneself) In the orangutan exhibit, most of the primates keep to themselves as it is in their nature to do so. One male orangutan was isolated from the others. With no one to associate or interact with, I began to observe the orangutan looking through his fur. The red ape began auto grooming, he was grooming himself. The red ape dug through the fur on his arm looking for dirt, parasites, or any other types of waste. Now and then he would pick something and put it in his mouth then resume to groom himself. I wasn’t close enough to see exactly what he was picking from his fur but he seemed very focused throughout this process. I watched him busily looking for what didn’t belong as his auto grooming went on for about 5 minutes. Although this didn’t last long, he seemed satisfied with himself when finished. Autogrooming

13. When visiting the orangutan exhibit, I witnessed something I had never seen in my 17 years of living. I looked through the glass of the exhibit only to see two orangutans mating. That I found natural as it is in everyone’s nature to mate. What I found strange was the lack of excitement from the orangutans. Neither of the two red apes seemed to be enjoying the sex. There were no groans or moans or any type of facial expressions. Their faces appeared bland. The male was clearly dominant of the female as he was taking charge of what was going on. At one point I thought the female was being raped because the male aggressively moved her to where he wanted her. She kept trying to close her legs but he reopened them every time. She was powerless and had no control over him. It looked as though she had given up and just laid back letting him do as he pleased. But then I thought well maybe orangutans don’t mate for pleasure as we humans and other primates like bonobos do. These two orangutans were mating in order to keep the cycle of reproduction going, they were strictly business. Sexual Behavior

14. Father Gorilla Dark black/gray fur coat Doesn’t really interact with females Knuckle walking (walks on knuckles) Father Orangutan Red fur coat Interacts with female orangutan by mating Quadrumanous walking (walk on sides of hands) Both: Dominant over other primates in exhibit Larger than the females Keep to themselves Search for food(leaves) Animal Comparisons

15. While at the zoo not only did I observe the animals but I also observed people and their reactions to the animals. Here is what I saw: While watching the orangutans, they began to mate and had been mating for quite a while when little girls ran up to the exhibit. They enthusiastically asked their father what the red apes were doing but the father quickly told them in an oppressive voice to keep walking and not to look at the apes. He obviously did not want his little girls to watch orangutans having sex. What I also found intriguing was when someone in our group told them that the apes were just wrestling. The father still rushing his daughters to leave and before you know it they had left. Later while still in the orangutan exhibit, I heard a mother tell her daughter, “look how big their hands are!” The little girl just stared at the orangutan, I assume she was watching the size of their hands. The mother then began to explain to her daughter that the orangutans needed huge hands to climb and to eat. When I visited the gorilla exhibit I was surprised to see that a female gorilla had gotten up from the far back of the exhibit and began to walk towards the front when she saw us approaching. She sat on the edge as close as she could have gotten to us humans, almost as if she liked the attention and she wanted us to notice her. Then she stared at us like we were the ones in the zoo. The roles had been reversed. Then I wondered, was this female gorilla as curious about us as we are about her? I believe she was. We are very similar to these primates in terms of behavior. We both search for food and mate for reproduction. That’s all we really do if you think about it is eat and have sex. Males carry themselves with confidence as they are dominant to females in most cases. With humans, men also walk with confidence and believe themselves to be dominant, although this isn’t true. So I believe human are primate behaviors are very similar. Part Four Human Behaviors