RECONCILIATORY BEHAVIOR IN CAPTIVE FEMALE CHIMPANZEES

Between May 29th and July 31st I studied the behaviors of the nine adult female chimpanzees at the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro , North Carolina. Data were collected using focal animal observations in which females were observed for 20-minute intervals. A standard ethogram was employed. While resting was generally recorded most often , the females engaged in affiliative behaviors an average of 19.78% of the time , with a range of 8% to 32%. The two highest ranking mothers in the group , MG and RT , had the highest levels of affiliation (28% and 32% , respectively). During the study period I also recorded four conflicts between eight of the nine females: MG , RB , BA , TM , RT , AM , MK , and TR. In all four conflicts , one of the females was chased by at least one other female , and in two conflicts , a female was struck by BA , the daughter of the highest ranking female , MG. After three out of the four conflicts , I observed reconciliation between those involved. These post-conflict reconciliation behaviors included kissing , grooming , sitting close to one another , and reaching. The data show that there is an association between rank , age , and affiliation in the post-conflict reconciliation