Jamie Milliff

Anthropology 161
18 February, 2017

RIVERBANK ZOO EXERCISE ON

PRIMATE SOCIAL BEHAVIOR

1. PRIMATE LIST
Observer: Jamie Milliff | Date: 2/18/17 | Day of Week: Saturday
List of all the names of all primates at Riverbanks Zoo (at least a common name, but add the
scientific name if readily available).
I. Mountain Gorillas VIII. Red-Ruffed Lemur
A. Gorilla beringei A. Varecia rubra
B. Ape B. Prosimian
II. Lowland Gorillas IX. Hamadryas Baboon
A. Gorilla gorilla A. Papio hamadryas
B. Ape B. Old World Monkey
III. Ring-Tailed Lemur X. Diana Monkey
A. Lemur catta A. Cercophithecus diana
B. Prosimian B. Old World Monkey
IV. White-Faced Saki XI. Siamangs
A. Pithecia pithecia A. Hylobates syndactylus
B. New World Monkey
B. Ape
V. Golden-Headed Lion Tamarin
A. Leontopithecus chrysomelas
B. New World Monkey
VI. Lion-Tailed Macaque
A. Macaca Silenus
B. Old World Monkey
VII. Golden Lion Tamarin
A. Leontopithecus rosalia
B. New World Monkey
2. SPECIES RECORDING SHEET
Observer: Jamie Milliff | Date: 2/18/17 | Day of Week: Saturday
Take notes on this sheet and additional paper, and then devise your own mode of
organization and presentation. You will collect and present the following information
or observations for 4 different species (include a prosimian, new world monkey, old
world monkey, and ape).
I. Prosimian
A. Classification
1. Common and scientific name (genus and species; capitalize first letter of
genus name and underlined both genus and species if the subspecies is
listed). Red-Ruffed Lemur; Varecia rubra
2. List Taxonomic suborder, infraorder, and family (and superfamily if
appropriate). Suborder: Strepsirrhini, Family: Lemuridae
B. Habitats, geographical information
1. Natural habitat (savanna, rainforest, etc.) Rainforest
2. Geographic location (continent, region). Africa, Madagascar Rainforests
C. Observed features and behaviors:
1. Body size (compared to other common animals, or approximate weight if
known). Largest member of their family.
2. Primary mode of locomotion (how does it move around). Climbs from
branch to branch, uses phalanges and claws to grip.
3. Number of animals and sex-age structure (adults, juveniles, infants,
males, females). Riverbank had 5 animals which were generally difficult
to tell apart.
4. Is it a sexually dimorphic species (males and females with clearly different
body size). Females are just barely larger than males.
5. Does it have a tail and if so how is it used (prehensile, balance, etc.), how
long is the tail compared to the body? They have long tails that they use
for balance. They look like they are about the length of their arms, if
not a little longer.
6. Hands (opposability, toilet claws, anything unusual, how well do they
grasp objects, etc.). They have opposable thumbs as well as toilet claws
that aid in gripping the branches as they climb and picking up objects.
7. Watch for about 5 minutes—what behaviors do you see? They were
grooming themselves by tongue like cats would, wiggling into different
positions to get spots that are hard to reach. They climbed around on
the branches most of the time. As I was leaving, they began to howl,
which spread through the entire group. The origin is unknown.
 II. New World Monkey
A. Classification
1. Common and scientific name (genus and species; capitalize firs t letter of
genus name and underlined both genus and species if the subspecies is
listed). White-Faced Saki; Pithecia p. pithecia
2. List Taxonomic suborder, infraorder, and family (and superfamily if
appropriate). Haplorrhini, Simiiformes, Pitheciidae
B. Habitats, geographical information
1. Natural habitat (savanna, rainforest, etc.) Forests
2. Geographic location (continent, region) South America, Northern Brazil
to the coasts of Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.
C. Observed features and behaviors:
1. Body size (compared to other common animals, or approximate weight if
known) Fairly small, but larger than the Golden-Headed Lion Tamarin it
was sharing an enclosure with. About the size of a small domestic cat.
2. Primary mode of locomotion (how does it move around) Climbs branches
using its hands and feet.
3. Number of animals and sex-age structure (adults, juveniles, infants,
males, females). Riverbank only had one White-Faced Saki, but it was in
an enclosure with two 2-toed Sloths and a Golden-Headed Tamarin.
4. Is it a sexually dimorphic species (males and females with clearly different
body size). They are very dimorphic in both color and size. The Males
have a much whiter face and are approximately 500g heavier than
females.
5. Does it have a tail and if so how is it used (prehensile, balance, etc.), how
long is the tail compared to the body? It has a tail, but it looks like it’s
only used for balance. The tail is longer than the body is tall.
6. Hands (opposability, toilet claws, anything unusual, how well do they
grasp objects, etc.). They have opposable thumbs and very sharp nails.
7. Watch for about 5 minutes—what behaviors do you see? The White-Face
Saki sat in the corner of the enclosure the whole time, propped between
a branch and the wall, facing the wall. 2 minutes in, he turned around
to shake out his fur, looked around for a little while, then turned back
around and assumed the same position as before.
III. Old World Monkey
A. Classification
1. Common and scientific name (genus and species; capitalize first letter of
genus name and underlined both genus and species if the subspecies is
listed). Diana monkey; Cercopithecus diana

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 2. List Taxonomic suborder, infraorder, and family (and superfamily if
appropriate). No suborder or infraorder found, Cercophitecidae
B. Habitats, geographical information
1. Natural habitat (savanna, rainforest, etc.) Forests
2. Geographic location (continent, region) Africa, the coasts of Sierra
Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Ghana
C. Observed features and behaviors:
1. Body size (compared to other common animals, or approximate weight if
known) Adults weigh between 4 and 7 kg on average
2. Primary mode of locomotion (how does it move around) They walked
around on all fours, sometimes they would climb on the structure.
3. Number of animals and sex-age structure (adults, juveniles, infants,
males, females). Only one monkey was in view in the enclosure, but in
the wild, they fall into a single male multiple female social structure.
4. Is it a sexually dimorphic species (males and females with clearly different
body size). They did not appear to be sexually dimorphic.
5. Does it have a tail and if so how is it used (prehensile, balance, etc.), how
long is the tail compared to the body? Their tails are very long, but did
not appear to be prehensile.
6. Hands (opposability, toilet claws, anything unusual, how well do they
grasp objects, etc.).
7. Watch for about 5 minutes—what behaviors do you see? There was only
one monkey out, and it sat and seemed to people watch for a while.
After 2 minutes of that, it climbed in the back of the enclosure up a wall,
jumped onto a rope, climbed across the rope using its hands and feet,
and made its way to a roof in the corner. It climbed on the roof and sat
there for another minute, before it climbed back down and ran inside.
IV. Ape
A. Classification
1. Common and scientific name (genus and species; capitalize first letter of
genus name and underlined both genus and species if the subspecies is
listed). Siamang; Symphalangus s. syndactylus
2. List Taxonomic suborder, infraorder, and family (and superfamily if
appropriate). Haplorhini, no infraorder found, Hylobatidae
B. Habitats, geographical information
1. Natural habitat (savanna, rainforest, etc.) Forests & Rainforests
2. Geographic location (continent, region) Asia, Malaysia
C. Observed features and behaviors:
1. Body size (compared to other common animals, or approximate weight if
known) Adults can weight up to 14 kg

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 2. Primary mode of locomotion (how does it move around) The Siamangs
primarily swung from branches and ropes to get from place to place.
They have very, very long arms that are longer than it’s legs.
3. Number of animals and sex-age structure (adults, juveniles, infants,
males, females). There were at least 3 Siamangs on display while I was
watching them, but I couldn’t tell the social structure from their
behavior.
4. Is it a sexually dimorphic species (males and females with clearly different
body size). There is very slight sexual dimorphism.
5. Does it have a tail and if so how is it used (prehensile, balance, etc.), how
long is the tail compared to the body? They do not have a tail.
6. Hands (opposability, toilet claws, anything unusual, how well do they
grasp objects, etc.). Opposable thumbs made it seem really easy for the
Siamangs to climb branches, ropes, and the rocky surface of the
enclosure. I didn’t see them pick up any objects, but they grasped well
while climbing.
7. Watch for about 5 minutes—what behaviors do you see? Two of the
Siamangs were resting while I observed them. The other one was on a
different island in the exhibit and moved very quickly. It climbed across
the rock formation to reach the branches, then used the branches to
climb a rope to reach the highest point in the exhibit. He was up there
for the rest of the time I watched him. He appeared larger than the
other two, which may have been due to his age.

3. PRIMATE SOCIAL BEHAVIOR OBSERVATIONS

Observer: Jamie Milliff | Date: 2/18/17 | Day of Week: Saturday
Due to weather limitations, I was unable to gather an hour’s worth of observations
before the animals disappeared from the exhibits. I found an extended video of their
interactions online here https://youtu.be/8OeNGT-gODo.
I. Ad Libitum Sampling
A. Red-Ruffed Lemur
1. Common name of the primate: Red-Ruffed Lemur
2. Number of Animals: 6
3. Genus: Varecia
4. Species: V. rubrua
5. Time of day: Unknown
6. Breakdown of social groupings
a. Number of adults: 1 female, 5 males
b. Number of juveniles: 0

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 c. Number of infants: 0
7. How did I tell the difference? It’s very hard to tell the difference between
Red-Ruffed Lemurs because they are just barely dimorphic. With this in
mind, there was 1 that seemed to be in charge as well as a little larger
and leaner than the other 5 lemurs. These are probably females. There
probably aren’t any age variations due to the fact that they all appear to
be the same relative size other than the female.
8. Weather: In a weather controlled-enclosure, temperature is warm, but
otherwise unknown
B. Diary Form. Spend 20-30 minutes collecting data on the species. Record all
behaviors performed by all animals, including time of behavior, social
interaction, etc. To help you in this, circle any of the following behaviors you
observe, then describe in diary form (with detailed observations) the timed
sequence of these behavioral activities (and any other behaviors) you observe.
Play Grooming Infant-focused behavior Agonistic Communication
At first, only 4 lemurs are on screen. 2 are in the lower branches, and 2 are
in the higher branches. The female is watching a male search for food on
the lower level. The other lemurs are alternating between looking around
and watching each other. One drops from above. One of the higher branch
lemurs climbs over to it quickly and they seemed to play fight for a little
before the new lemur climbs down to another branch. The male searching
for food shares with the female next to him. One is grooming himself on a
high branch. They don’t move much for about a minute. Another lemur
joins the male and female in the lower branches, searching for food. The
lemur that entered last jumped to a far branch and climbed out of view.
The female climbs away from searching for food, as does the male that
joined the search late. The female lays down on a thick branch near
another lemur for a minute without interruption. After 15 seconds, the two
lemurs that left the screen climb back into view towards the female. An
undefined number of them begin to vocalize. They calm down and a few
begin climbing the different levels again. A few settle into new spots and
begin to groom themselves. They climb using both their hands and feet,
and will often leap to a branch that is further away. They use their tails for
balance, never for swinging. When they are resting on a branch, it usually
just hangs down without motion. They begin to leave the screen one by
one. Every once in a while an indistinguishable lemur can be seen in the
low foliage or far away.
II. Instantaneous Sampling
A. Red-Ruffed Lemur
1. Common name of the primate: Red-Ruffed Lemur
2. Number of Animals: 6

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 3. Genus: Varecia
4. Species: V. rubrua
5. Time of day: Unknown
6. Weather: In a weather controlled-enclosure, temperature is warm, but
otherwise unknown
B. Choose a focal animal (single individual) to observe—make it an active
individual. Conduct instantaneous sampling using a behavioral and social
interaction checklist (one is provided, but feel free to invent your own based on
the individual, species, and situation). What this means is that you will make
instantaneous observations (spot-check) on what the individual is doing at pre-
determined time intervals (like every 30 seconds or minute for 20-30 minutes).
0:10 NF Searching for new food
1:10 NF Searching for new food
2:10 NF Searching for new food and eating what he found
3:10 NF Searching for new food
4:10 NF Searching for new food
5:10 NF Searching for new food
6:10 CL Climbed up the front small branches, moved to thicker
back branches after looking at the audience
7:10 CH Chattering to others, looking around at each other
8:10 GR Grooming himself, continues looking around
9:10 WT Watching, immobile
10:10 CL Moved to another branch
11:10 CL Moved to another branch
12:10 WT Watching, immobile
13:10 CL Climbed down, to a lower branch
14:10 NV Climbed out of view
15:10 NV Still out of view
16:10 NV Still out of view
17:10 NV Still out of view
18:10 NV Still out of view
19:10 NV Still out of view
20:10 NV Still out of view

4. EVALUATIVE ESSAY
Evaluate the ease and difficulty, and strengths and weaknesses, of each technique (e.g.,
were the results comparable in terms of your estimates of activity patterns, which was
more accurate, which provided the most information and the best information, which
would you learn more from). Compare the results from your two observations in an
essay of at least one page in length.

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 Observing primates has been a very valuable technique for every branch

of anthropology. Biological anthropologists use the physiological structure of

Old World Monkeys and Apes as an analogy for our own ancestral homosapian

construction. Cultural anthropologists are interested in how and why primates

break into specific social groups. Even linguistic anthropologists take interest in

how these intelligent creatures communicate, though it may not be a fully

defined “language”. Considering the wide usage of close primate analysis, there

have been different developments in how exactly to observe with varying

strengths and weaknesses.

Ad Lib Sampling is used by observers who watch these primates for a

determined amount of time, journaling any observation that comes to mind.

This includes locomotion, mannerisms, communication, and interactions with

others in their environment. This technique best captures the more qualitative

behaviors of a primate group, as well as intrasocialization of the group as a

whole. It does not, however, provide an accurate description of the primates as

individuals.

That is why observers also use Instantaneous Sampling. In this

technique, they will follow one primate in the group the whole time, marking his

or her actions in time intervals. This gives an accurate frequency of behaviors,

making it easier to understand exactly how much time is devoted to what

behavior. It is very useful in quantitative analysis, but has its own shortcomings.

It is almost entirely individual-based, and doesn't focus on anything else

happening in the group.