Chimpanzees drum on the large buttresses of trees to communicate over long distances. Researchers from the Universities of St Andrews and Vienna now report in the journal “Animal Behavior” that the individual animals have their own individual style, showing who is currently drumming. They can use the beats to connect or keep in touch with their group if they distance themselves from it.
Wild chimpanzees often drum on the supporting roots of rainforest trees, some several meters high, when they want to demonstrate their dominance and strength to nearby peers, shaking branches, throwing objects and yelling. But even when they are alone and far away, they drum with hands and feet on the support pillars. In this way they generate low-frequency sounds that can be heard from more than a kilometer away, write the scientists who collaborate with Vesta Eleuteri of the Department of Cognitive Biology at the University of Vienna.
“The John Bonham of the Forest”
In their study, the researchers focused on the Waibira chimpanzee group of about 120 members in the Budongo Forest in western Uganda. Of the 22 adult males in the group, they observed the behavior of eight animals of different ages and social ranks in more detail. They examined the acoustic structure of their drumming, ie duration, number of beats, time between beats and the timing of the accompanying screams.
Scientists were often able to see who was drumming. One of the chimpanzees, named “Tristan”, is “the John Bonham of the forest” for Vesta Eleuteri. He drums “so fast you can barely see his hands,” similar to the legendary drummer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Also, Ben, the alpha male of the group, has a particular style of two punches in quick succession, followed at a distance by one or two more punches.
Social media for chimpanzees
For Eleuteri, drumming is a kind of ‘chimpanzee social media’. In fact, the animals drummed more often when traveling alone or in small groups. “Of course they drum to know where others are and decide whether to go with them or not.” The researchers could also use it to find the different chimpanzees in the tropical forest they were looking for. “And if we can do it, we know for sure that the animals can too,” says Catherine Hobaiter of the School of Psychology at the University of St Andrews (UK).
But there are also situations where the animals decide not to drum into their individual rhythm – for example, when they show their dominance to other individuals in the group. “In this way, they avoid that other, more distant individuals can see that it is they who are drumming — after all, that could be someone who is more dominant and could challenge them,” Eleuteri told APA.
In her next study, the researcher wants to investigate whether neighboring or more distant chimpanzee communities drum in their own style, i.e. whether there are cultural differences.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
