CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
THE ROLE
OF THE HAREr1I MALE
Jl
AS A FACTOR IN GROUP STABILITY
IN THEROPITHECUS GELATIA
A Thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the
requirements for the degree of l1aster of Arts in
Anthropology
by
Jean Kat..'l-J.erlne Wrubel
January, 1976
The thesis of Jean Katherine Wrubel is approved:
California State University, Northridge
December, 1975
ii
ACKNOWLEDGI-iENTS
I would like to express my appreciation to those
individuals who have directed, aided, and encouraged me
throughout this study.
My thanks go to Ms. Karen Chruszch,
the untrained observer in Chapter 3; Dr. Bruce Gelvin for
his help in qualifying and clarifying many of the details;
and Dr. David Hayano for his insightful questions concerning my conceptual framework.
My special thanks goes
to Hs. Dot Gelvin for her direction and unfailing enthusiasm.
I also 11ish to thank Jan Austin, who has shared so
unstintingly of her time and herself on my behalf.
111
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKOWLEDGuLENTS. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
LIST OF TABLES •
.
iii
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
v
LIST OF FIGURES. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
vi
ABSTRACT • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
vii
•
•
Chapter
1
INTRODUCTION • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
1
The Problem. • • • • • • • • e • • • • • • •
Organization of the Thesls •• • • • • • • •
1
2
Chapter
2
COMPARISONS AND CONCEPTS • •
• • • • • • • •
Literature Review of Feral and Confined
Groups • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
The Role of the Male • • • • • • • • • • • •
Oparationalization of Concepts e • • • • • •
Anomie • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ~
Social Behavior. • • • • • • • • • • • • •
4
4
7
10
11
12
Chapter
3
AND METHODS • • • • • • • • • • • • •
The Group. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
1-iethods of Observation and Analysis •• • • •
¥~lTERIALS
17
17
20
Chapter
4
RESULTS JtilD ANALYSIS OF RESULTS.
• • •
• • • •
26
• • •
• • •
• • •
• • •
41
41
,Chapter
5
CONCLUSIONS. • • • • • • • • •
From Anomie to Stability • •
Stabili·ty and Role I!' uno ti on.
Role Shift • • • • • • • • •
• • •
• • •
• • •
• • •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SEIJECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
iv
43
44
LIST OF TABLES
:1•
2.
4.
5.
Sample data collection check-sheet used
throughout this study •o•••••••••••••••o•••
The socially behavioral interactions bet'\·Teen
adult females and other.group members of
the Los Angeles gelada group as noted in
six hours of observation in November, 1973 ..
Frequencies of proximity bet1'ieen animals in
which the noted dyad were nearest each
other from t1vo hours of observation in
November, 1973•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Interactions betl'leen the adult male and
other members of the Los Angeles gelada
group as noted in twelve hours of observation in i'Iarch, 1974 ••••••••••••••••••••••
Grooming frequencies for the subadult male
of the Los Angeles gelada group as noted
in sixteen and one-half hours of observation in October and November, 1974 •••••••••
v
22
28
29
31.
37
LIST OF FIGURES
'1.
2.
Relations between extrinsic factors and aspects
of a primate social system....................
A schematic drawing
6
repre~enting the wire cage
enclosure of the Los Angeles Zoo gelada
group •••••••••••••••••••••••• ~···••••••••••••• 19
vi
ABSTRACT
THE ROLE OF THE HAREH MALE
AS A FACTOR IN GROUP STABILITY
IN THEROPITHECUS GE:LADA
~~~~-
by
Jean Katherine l'frubel
Master of Arts in Anthropology
January, 1976
A social group, being composed of maturing and mortal
individuals, is a continually changi.ng, d;yii<3.mic structure.
The group survives and continues
iors
~~at
Y.Ii thi.n patterns
are shared by its memberse
of behav-
The maintenance of
the group depsnds on the shared expectations of the group
in response to discrete signals, whether behavioral or
ecological.
It is 1.1hen these expectatio.tls cease to cor-
respond to t.he reality of the environment that anomie develops.
Disruptions of the Los Angeles Zoo gelada group
produced periods of anomie.
The study focuses on key
individuals involved in the transition from anomie to social
stability.
Specific attention is given to the role of the
adult male ill this one-male ha.:r em group.
Y.ih en the adult
male died, a:ttention-rms focused on the subadult male who
began to take on the role of the harem u:ale.,
vii
His role
shift is presented.
The implications of role behavior and
group.stability, as shown in this role assumption, are
examined.
_ _j
viii
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
The Problem
The Therppithecu£ gelada (a baboon species) have
. been of interest to anthroplogists from at least two major
·theoretical vantage points.
Kummer (1971) has included
: the gelada in his discussion of one-male harem groups and
in the positing (albeit tentative) of analagous social formations of man with the ecological component being the
major selecting agent for one-male harem reproductive units.
Jolly (1970) was less tentative in his assertion that the
. gelada provides a living model of preadaptation for the
bipedalism of man.
His seed-eating model was based solely
on the morphology, physiology, and behaviors of the gelada
as they compare to fossil man.
Behavioral studies are of interest, not only for the
insights they might provide in the study of early man, but
also as they expand our awareness of the unique and the
,universal behavioral components of our primate heritage.
:Such studies
of~· ~lada
have been done in the field by
:Crook (1966) and Crook and Aldrich-Blake (1968).
Studies
!
have also been conducted on confined populations of
~·
:gelada by Bramblett (1970), Fedigan (1972) and Bernstein
1
2
. (1975).
The one-male subgroup has been much discussed in
these works, with particular attention focused on the
adult male.
Fedigan (1972) analyzed the variation which is present in the male role of this species.
One of the major
findings in her work was that males of different ages and
'social position spend different amounts of time in various
activities and have diverse frequencies of interaction with
group members of other age and sex categories.
One aspect
of the behavior of the male gelada which has not been described is what happens when a male changes from one role to
,another.
An analysis of such a role change is presented in
this study.
Another aspect of behavior in the gelada one-
male subgroup which has not been described is the complex
of mechanisms by which the group can reestablish social
unity after disruption of the existing social networks.
It
was found that these mechanisms are directed to or by a
nexus individual, i.e. an individual within the web of
interlocking networks of the group.
This study will pre-
sent a description of the shift in focus, the direction of
attention and response, during social change.
The social
interactions of the nexus are analyzed as they pertain to
the alteration of the group social behavior as it changes
from anomie to stability.
9.r£anization of the Thesis
In Chapter 2, concepts of anomie and social behavior
3
are discussed.
Comparisons between studies of feral and
confined groups of geladas are presented.
There is a par-
ticular focus on the role of the adult male in the compari• sons.
In Chapter 3, the observed gelada group and its
. quarters are described.
tion are presented.
Methods and materials of observa-
The properties of each method are
discussed.
The results and an analysis of the results of the
' observations are offered in Chapter 4.
In Chapter 5, a summary and conclusions are presented.
·The role of the adult male is examined as it pertains to
the reassimilation and maintenance of group stability.
'---·-------··--···-··--·--- --···- ·---·-····------------ ------ ·----
CHAPTER 2
COMPARISONS
~lterature
~~D
CONCEPTS
Review of Fera+_and Conf}ned
Grou~s
Crook (1966) and Crook and Aldrich-Blake (1968) indicated that
1·
~~have
been observed either in composite
parties or in separately ranging groups consisting either
of one adult male and attendant females and juveniles (the
harem group) or all-male groups mainly comprised of subadult animals.
The one-male group adult membership shows
no change but juveniles either attach themselves to the
group or leave it.
The size of these groups varies but
averages about fifteen members per harem group and seven to
eight members in the all-male groups.
From these studies
of the feral gelada, it was found that the gelada spends up
to seventy percent of its waking hours foraging, notably
after its extensive morning grooming period.
Play activity
is also largely confined to the early morning with a progressive decline through the day.
Crook (1970) has proposed a ·model of social structure
which will be helpful, not only in this study of species.specific behaviors, but also in comparing the differences,
both gross and subtle, between feral and confined groups.
~
schematicized representation of his model, as adapted
4
5
from Crook and Gartlan (1966), is shown in Figure 1.
Exam-
• ination of Figure 1 show·s that all of the environmental
variables are of a controlled and constant nature within a
confined group.
Predation pressure is nonexistent.
Dis-
· persian of food-stuffs will relate to time but not to space
.with a confined group.
Availability of food will be a mat-
. ter of quantity and quality
"~'Ti thin
a day cycle and will not
relate to area or variety of content.
Sleeping sites will
be within the compound and will be without variation.
Population size will be to some extent externally control. led because groups that become too large are usually sepa'rated rather than compounds becoming expanded.
The popula-
tion will be dispersed only within its compound w·hich may
not be of sufficient size to accommodate more than one
group.
This leaves only t1·ro aspects of the social system
which can be realistically and meaningfully compared between the feral and confined groups: (1) social structure
and mating system and (2) the social dynamics within the
group.
Even these comparisons are difficult since social
structure and its incumbent mating system have been most
extensively studied solely rii thin confined groups: Bernstein 1975; Bramblett 1970; and Fedigan 1972.
Social dyna-
'mics, too, with the exception of gross observations, have
1
been studied exclusively within confined groups.
However,
i before approaching these studies and comparing their re-
. sults rrith the results of this study, it is necessary to
6
ENVIRONNENTAL
VARIABLES
Sleeping-site
ava:tlability
and disnersion
!
IH'ood
~vailability
'"'
1'-
f..
I-
Predation
H" pressure
I
A..
P?pula tion ~ Po pula t~on ~ Social ~tructure ]
~ dispersJ.on ~and ma tJ.n.g svstem
"' sJ..ze
~nd
~ispersion
SOCIAL
i
~
t
1.
Social dynamics'
in groups
SYSTE£"1
Figure 1. Relations betw·een extrinsic factors and
aspects of a primate social system.
i
7
, consider possible distortions of all activity and behavioral measurements as proposed by RorTell (1972:72):
It seems reasonable to conclude that food supply,
both the quantity and the form in v-rhich it is
available, has a direct effect on the amount and
type of social interaction seen in monkey groups.
Exactly uhat these differences are among gelada groups is
. not possible to ascertain but, certainly, the great amount
of foraging time in the wild is severely reduced and replaced with what appears to be increased grooming and play
, behavior in the confined groups.
There is a marked ten-
dency for an increase in all types of social interaction in
confined groups.
It can not be said that the supplying of
food is of primary importance in this observed increase of
interactions since Rowell (1972) also reported these in, creases in all confined groups with possible causal factors
including: (1) increased proximity of all members of the
group, (2) the probable lack of kinship in the founding
group, (3) the lack of cover, and (4) affective "stress".
The Role of the Hale
Of particular interest in this study is the male role
and how· it is an integrating factor in group cohesion.
Some 1wrk has been done examining not only sex role differences in the gelada (Bernstein 1975) but also exploration
, of the male role at different stages of his social maturity
! (Bramblett 1970; Fedigan 1972; and Bernstein 1975).
Since
. one of the crucial elements of this study is the relationship between role behavior and group stability, it is
8
-
1
prudent to examine these other studies of gelada behavior
and to cite parallels 1>There appropriate to the group under
study here.
For a confined group at the Yerkes Regional Research
!
i
:Center, Bernstein (1975) indicated that the group spent
. only twenty-one percent of their time feeding and nearly
twenty-five percent in self-directed or object manipulation
activities.
These percentages differ dramatically from
those cited by Crook (1966) for feral groups.
But more
important to this study is Bernstein's statement that the
• members of the group averaged nearly twenty-eight percent
of the time in contact with one another.
This figure is
appreciably lower than the percent of contact time found in
the Los Angeles Zoo group.
This may be due to the more re-
stricted space of the Los Angeles group, as suggested by
Rowell (1972), and/or to the fact that the adult male spent
at least fifty percent or more of his time being groomed.
His behavior alone skews activity levels from any approachable correspondence with findings from Bramblett (1970),
Fedigan ( 1972) or Bernstein ( 1975).
Having no rivals or
subadult males with which to contend, his agonistic displays were minimal and usually centered on a juvenile male,
if it had been in contact with a
sudden~~
squealing infant,
or on the No. 4 female, an animal whose low status brought
i
!
her into regular agonistic contact with each adult in the
group.
Correspondences with other activities are also skewed
9
because of the sex and age composition of the Los Angeles
group.
All births in the last five years have been male.
Therefore, differences in play behavior, object manipulartion, and grooming activities between the sexes are not
only invalid for this study but totally unobservable.
Therefore, grooming time, grooming dyads, and spatial proximities tend to center on differences among the females in
the hierarchy and how they relate to the male.
The only
extensive proximity measures on any but the females concern
the juvenile males v:ri th special reference to their orientation to the adult male.
Bramblett (1970:332) said:
The adult male gelada performs a lvell-defined
role in the group. One facet of this role involves group spacing and cohesion.
He goes on to explain that this includes the "herding" of
his females or a female if there is another male within
acceptable social space.
males iii t..'t-J.in
t..~e
Since there was no other adult
group, this "herding" i-ras not an activity
of the Los Angeles male.
His role in group spacing and
cohesion was a bit more subtle; at times, it merely required his presence to keep the juvenile males peripheral
to the rest of the group.
His support was solicited in one
instance of coalition development by the lone No. 1 female
against the Nos. 2 and 3 females in a sequence involving
displacement and agonistic display.
A second facet of the adult male role is the priority
of certain kinds of social space.
Bramblett (1970) cited
10
the introduction of foodstuffs into the compound.
This
aspect of the Los Angeles male role r7as observed.
At times
he would alloi'r his females (usually, however, just the No.
;1 female) to sit near him during feeding.
There was always
at least the No. 1 female by his side for the r·1onkey Chorr
.sessions, but he was more likely to "beg" for foodstuffs
from the zoo visitors on his own with no other animal approaching the fence for a share of the "take".
Fedigan (1972:90) stated that there are "patterns of
activities and interactions 1·1hich correspond to male roles."
Certainly, the role differences among the juveniles, sub'adults, and adult males are extensive.
In consideration of
these differences, she asked:
What exactly happens when a male changes or
progresses from one role to another? ••• lihat
in a males• background, if anything, prepares
him to eL~ibit the appropriate behavior of a
harem male? (1972:89-90).
Since this behavior of role changes has not been
studied in confined or feral groups, there is no comparison
possible for the role change vJhich was observed in this
study.
Such a role change did occur.
The observed change
is presented in Chapter 4 and a discussion of this role
change is given in Chapter 5.
A young male took on the
role of harem male and the import to the stability of the
'group is still being revealed as he continues to take on
'more of an adult male's characteristics.
g~erationaliza~ion
ofw9oncep!g
11
Anomie
Merton (1964:226) said:
Anomie refers to a property of a social system,
not to the state of mind of this or that individual w2thin the system. It refers to· the
breakdorm of social standards governing behavior and so also signifies little social cohesion. ~·men a high degree of anomie has set in,
the rules once governing conduct have lost their
savor and their force. Above all else, they are
deprived of legitimacy.
"Savor" uill simply be deleted from the definition since it
is an unquantifiable concept.
"Legitimacy" should be re-
worded to "group awareness and consensus of expected behavior", an extension of the role of dominance in group cohesion as discussed by Kummer ( 1971).
Once the very "human"
elements are removed from this definition and it is deanthropomorphologized, the anomie concept appears to be a
valid one i·ii th res pee t to the nature of the alterations of
the social matrix within the gelada group after a dlsruption.
Therefore, anomie refers to a property of social
system(structure), not to the state of mind of this or that
individual i·li thin the system.
It refers to the breakdo-vm
of social standards regulating behavior and so also signifies little social cohesion.
i'lhen a high degree of anomie
has set in, the rules once governing conduct have lost
their force·.
Above all else, there is no longer a group
al·iareness and consensus of expected behavior.
This is the
exclusive definition of anomie as used in this study.
12
Social Behavior
Behavior is a tangled mix of biochemical, physiological, psychological, morphological, genetic, and environmental factors.
Thus, the attempt to understand a single be-
havior, by merely defining its motor components, appears to
border on simple-mindedness.
One approach to understanding
behavior is within an evolutionary frame"'·rork; that is, how·
is a particular behavior adaptive?
Naturally, this entails
descriptions and analysis of not only the behavior but also
its context.
The environment, both physical and social,
the target and direction, and the mode of the behavior must
be examined.
Does the behavior represent a type of redun-
dant signal (ritualized and readily understood) or is it a
unique configuration for a specific communication?
For
this study some current issues concerning the study of behavior have been examined.
A fe"'v of these are discussed as
they relate to the development of the conceptual frame"ivorlc
in which this. study was done.
There can be little question
as to the adaptive significance of certain behaviors (mating, mothering, play}; h01-rever, the extent to 'Hhich ·even
these
behav~ors
are genetically controlled, and to what
extent learned, is still a matter of intensive investigation ( F·alconer 1960; r:Ianosevi tz, Lindzey and Thiessen
: 1969; and Hirsch 1967).
Because simple occurenc e of a be-
;havior does not give specific evidence of its genetic and
~learned
components, the investigations have diverged in the
:_~irection
of a theoretical focus.
One approach of labora-
13
tory experimentation provided mathematical models of heritability (Falconer 1960).
Another mode is concerned more
with behavioral studies and their relationship to a theore.tical model of adaptability and selective pressures (Harlow
1951 and 1958; Andrew 1963; and Denny and Ratner 1970).
Still others focus on the nexus of relationships and the
stimulus-response sequence of behavior (Mayr 1974).
Studies may also focus on a specific behavior, a
specific individual, a complex of behaviors, a social group,
cross-species behaviors, and various combinations of these
types and others.
The field of study is as complex as that
which it attempts to understand.
From this wealth of in-
vestigative orientations, a valid and reliable definition
of bal-J.avi.ors observed must be extracted for the analysis of
data from any behavioral study.
These definitions will, of
course, vary with the author and his basic orientation.
Operationalizing a definition of behavior for this
study has made clear that a distinction between genetic and
learned behaviors, though perhaps important, is not feasible for na tura.li stic studies 1-lhether in the wild or in a
confined environment.
The best that can be done is an ac-
ceptance of generalized assumptions, such as those which
Denny and Ratner (1970:141) presented:
Kineses, taxes, and instinct have been characterized as being innate, genetically organized responses. Although this characterization follows aeneral usage, it does not mean
that the responses occur Hithout external
stimulation. Rather, they reqaire sti:cJ.uli
,___________o:r:_'_elici tors and may :require a particular
14
set of antecedent conditions. However, they
do not require specific prior training such as
is true for learned responses. In addition,
the characterization of being innate is descriptive of behaviors depending heavily on the
biological organization that is typical for
the individuals -rrithin the species. Thus, it
is assumed that if a behavior is innate, dif•
ferent individuals of a species, or of one sex
of a species, will react to the same stimulus
in very much the same way, given similar antecedent and immediate conditions (speciesspecific behavior).
It is the behavior of the group which is of primary
interest in this study, and individual behaviors gain importance only as they relate to the overall functioning,
distribution, and stability of the group.
Much of the
social structure of any group of primates depends on the
generalized expectations of the individuals as to the
"meaning" of particular behaviors.
For example, a young
male presenting to a dominant male expects to be either
reassured or ignored.
If his expectations were sufficient-
ly unfounded in the reality of behavior of the dominant
male, one would expect that his submissive behavior would
alter in accordance with new expectations.
To a large ex-
tent, the group maintains its cohesiveness by sharing the
same body of expectations.
Behaviors may then be examined
, in view of the kind of response i'lhich is to be anticipated
from their performance.
Discrete behaviors may be discus-
;
:sed as clusters, such as aggressive behaviors, in that they
~elicit
a generalized set of responses such as flight, sub-
missive, and appeasement behaviors.
l~o~ies
Thus, very gross cate-
can be broken down into discrete components; and
15
conversely, singular behaviors may be combined into more
general and analytically meaningful aggregates.
The choice
of behaviors for this study is directly dependent on the
extent of group response to these behaviors.
noted ·Nhich do elicit response.
Behaviors are
Behaviors are amassed into
gross categories where it appoars that there is a generalized type of response.
And lastly, behavior categories are
context sensitive; that is, a behavior is noted vli thin an
aggressive category only if it elicits an appropriate response to aggression.
Categories of behaviors were used which were deemed
valid after intial observations.
These were generally more
detailed than the ten categories used by Fedigan (1972) although several including movement, sleeping, self-grooming,
grooming another, being groomed, and eating were considered
discrete and definitive enough without breaking them down
further.
Her three categories of interactions with other
animals, relating to the age and sex of the other animals,
Y.Tere divided into more descriptive compon·ents including:
displacement, presenting, threat (specifying the nature of
the threat as well as direction), appeasement (again, specifying the components of the behavior), glancing, and
other behaviors which were considered to include two or
more animals.
This extension of interaction notations was
made on the basis of a stimulus-response model in which it
is assumed that activities or behaviors which include more
'than the observed animal, even though the instigator or
16
receipient of the sequence be on the other side of the
enclosure, demonstrate an exchange of information and a
validation of social a·wareness.
Thus, "labeling" of dis-
crete behaviors allowed more generalized categories to be
analyzed.
These general categories could relate proximity
.frequencies, "aggressive" vs. "friendly" interactions, and
.
·,
other observer/analyzer defined comparative components.
Since group stability is the focus of this study, the detailing of social interactions in a manner which could be
quantified idth respect to various parameters was essential.
OHAPTE..11. 3
MATERIALS AlfD METHODS
The Gro_\!12.
Gelada baboons are terrestrial quadrupeds whose natural habitat is in the highlands of central and northeast
Ethiopia (Crook 1966).
Adult males weighing· approximately
forty-five pounds are about twice the size of females
(Bramblett 1970).
Bernstein (1975:57) added:
Geladas may be distinguished from most cercopithecine monkeys by several variations in
sexual behavior and related morphology. :Soth ·
sexes have a naked area of red skin on the
chest and on the ventral portion of the neck.
This skin is pink in immature animals and red
in adults. Females develop a 'necklace' of
edematous beads encircling this red skin during
active cycling.
Fatty pads on the buttocks, adjacent to the true isch:i.al
callosities are peculiar to the gelada (Jolly 1970).
The
gelada communicative behavior includes several unique elements, as noted by Hill (1970:519):
complete eversion of the upper lip; scalp
retraction; stretching of the unpigmented
patch of skin be titre en upper eyelid and brow
ridge across the ridge; a curious low-pitched
musical sound, resembling human conversation
audible at a distance.
'The social organization of the gelada includes the one.male harem group.
The Los Angeles gelada group is a one-male harem
17
18
group.
In l•larch of 1974, the group consisted of an adult
male, three adult females, one juvenile female, one subadult male, one older and two younger juvenile males.
The
!ages of the subadult male, juvenile female, and adult animals are not knorrn.
The age ranking was done on the basis
;of size and coloration of the_ chest patch.
The older juve-
nile male was three years of age and the younger juvenile
males were t1·m years of age in Narch, 1974.
Their ages are
knovm from earlier observations made by this author which
included the infancy period of these animals.
They were housed in a wire cage approximately
by twenty feet.
s~xty
The cage had a water pool, several large
rocks, and elevated wooden shelves as shown in Figure 2.
The composition of the group remained constant until the
birth of a male infant to the No. 2 female on April 19,
1974.
During this period, the adult male exhibited the behavior patterns that have been described for the dominant
male in a gelada group.
Hore specifically, he fulfilled
the older harem male role as described by Fedigan (1972).
The adult male had the long, dark
bro~m
cape covering his
forequarters, a brightly colored chest patch, and large
canine teeth.
The subadult male was difficult to distin-
guish from the females on the basis of size.
He had not
yet begun to acquire the external morphological character-
istics of an adult male (Gelvin and Wrubel 1975).
The
group was observed approximately one and one-half hours a
19
Approximate size dimensions:
a
twenty feet
b
ten feet
stucco side walls =
eight feet
side chain-link fence
(atop stucco) =
six feet
Cement flooring ·
Chain-link ceiling
=
=
Figure 2. A schematic drawing representing the wire
cage enclosure of the Los Angeles Zoo gelada g:roup.
c .• ·---·-· -------·---·-· ·---·--··--··-· ··--·- .. -·---···--·-------·- -· -- - - ... ·-----------·--·-- ----···---------- -----·----. --·------ ·- -- ···--------·----·· --· ----- ----·---- ·-. ~
20
day, three days a weelc until mid-September when it was removed from its wire cage.
The group was held in the night
cages of its ne"'-T enclosure for approximately three rTeeks.
After a hiatus of about a month, observations were resumed
:on October 16, 1974.
The composition of the group had
changed by: (1) the addition of a male infant born September 21st to the No. 3 female and (2) the death of the adult
male.
The group then consisted of one subadult male, four
adult females (the juvenile female of March 1974 having
begun cycling and shovnng the red chest patch), one older
juvenile male, t"'iO younger juvenile males, and
infants.
t'YTO
male
The group was released, October 15th, onto a dry
island enclosure uhich had a "cave", numerous rock formations, a "'i'ater pool, and a dry moat (approximately thirty
'feet in depth) to which the animals had free access.
The
group had not changed its composition as of September 15,
1975.
How·ever, two chimpanzees were added to the enclosure
in November, 1974.
A third chimpanzee had been added be-
tween !'larch 1, 1975 and September 1, 1975.
~ods
of
Observ~tio4,9nd_Anal~sis
Two basic types of data taking techniques were used
in most observations.
charts.
These were check-sheets and spatial
During peak activity periods, observations were
'occasionally taped, to be transcribed at a later time.
The
'tapes were often helpful in depicting subtle and complex
'behaviors and were used, for the most part, to aid in set-
21
ting up categories for the check-sheets.
Check-sheets (Table 1) were used throughout observa:tional periods.
The categories were derived to specifical-
ly record all observable behaviors of the focus animal.
Thus, the categories were altered when the focus changed
from adult male-adult female interactions to those centering around t..he No. 2 female tvi th her newborn infant.
The
change in focus to the subadult male again demanded a new
set of categories.
Since the check-sheets were also used
,to record behaviors of more than the focus animal(s), the
categories included areas for recording other interactions
within the group.
For example, while recording the activi-
ties of the subadult male in March and April, 1974, the
categories included: grooming, displacement, chasing,
wrestling, mock-biting, tickling, climbing, sleeping, and
"other" in- addition to distance and orientation with regards to the adult male.
1'111en the subadul t male began to
fill the harem male role, the categories included: motion,
feeding, grooming, gestures relating to dominance, play,
and one designated "leading behavior".
This last category
_was recorded 1-rhen other members of the group follo'wed the
subadul t male llhen he moved, especially, into or up from
'the dry moat which surrounds the island.
Check-sheets presented a problem in their formation
and in their analysis.
Designing a check-sheet was very
much like designing a questionnaire.
i
That is, does a par-
ticular category give one too much information, not enough;
L--~-- --------- ·-------------- ... ·-------~---- ------------ -------------- -- --. -- - ·-·-·------------ ---- ------
-·- -
22
TABLE 1
Sample data collection check-sheet used throughout this
study.
MOTHER WITH
INF~1T
With Infant
Interaction
cuddling
grooming
nursing
other
With Other
Adult F·emales
grooming
mutual grooming
displacing
being displaced
other
With Adult i·iale
grooming
being groomed
presenting
glancing away
cower
move aside
flee
other
With Others
Specify
'
.a .5
S '-
1
I
,
10
t1 12. 13 tal IS IC. 11 18 It .:to
23
does it measure vlhat one thinks it does?
be as detailed as possible so
I
I
could be noted.
-t..~at
The sheets had to·
all gross behaviors
These discrete categories were then
,amassed into more general categories for analysis.
An un-
trained observer was asked to use the sheets concurrently
with the author to ascer_tain if the categories v-rere distinctly observable. -The agreement v-1as nearly one hundred
percent, differing only for the category "specific" or
"other", a category for specifying activity uhich did not
appear in any of the categories.
tions.
This method has lim.ita-
The detailing on the check-sheets was often tpo
extensive and not pertinent and generally tended to make
notation more difficult than was necessary.
Also, it did
not naturally generate proximities unless interaction occurred.
Obviously, it was necessary to study the animals
for some time before a thoroughly appropriate set of behaviors 1-;ere detailed on the sheets.
~'lith
the change in
focus through time, neii categories had to be validated 'i·li th
extensive observation and recording.
It also became appar-
ent that some categories were too confining, and many of
the notations resembled
11
running notes" rather than the
more simply tractable X's necessary for the analysis of the
"data.
The other technique used was the recording of movement on spatial charts (Figure 2).
Because behavior occurs
in space, as i'lell as time, spatial factors can elucidate
L~-~"btl~ ~:ttera tions
of behavior within a primate group. __________
.24
Wilson (1972:256) said:
A growing literature indicates that primates,
1·rho are strongly social creatures, make elaborate and varied use of space and are in turn
susceptible to the influences of spatial factors.
Included in her description of spatial factors are interindividual distance and spatial patterning.
These two fac-
tors ·were particularly important in this study and spatial
charts became an integral part of the data collection technique.
However, spatial charts, too, have built-in limita-
tions which are not as easily overcome as those of checksheets.
Ideally, spatial charts whould have included ori-
entation notations.
The charts did not naturally generate
the specific activities of the animals so that these activities had to be noted where it was deemed necessary.
Move-
ments of individuals can be captured most accurately with
this method.
Check-sheets and spatial charts can be more
productive than running notes for noting gross behaviors
and for generating analytically quantifiable relationships.
Houever, these methods have their limitations and these
limitations should be re·cognized before broad generalizations can be made from the analyses.
Another problem en-
countered using these techniques was the integration of information.
Integration depended on details and notations
not a nattiTal part of the techniques themselves.
:some of the data could not be totally integrated.
Thus,
For ex-
:ample, an aggression-appeasement sequence does not appear
the spatial charts as more than a movement of animals
25
within a configuration which resembles
~~e
configuration
for disturbances from outside the cage or displacement
sequences.
It even resembles movements of pre-feeding and
pre-grooming.
Uithout specific notations, these spatial
'configurations can not be accurately integrated with the
check-sheets.
CHAPTER 4
RESULTS AND .AliJALYSIS OF RESULTS
-
In observing the reestablishment of social cohesion
and integrated behaviors after each disruption, typically
.
-
..
the removal of animals, of the social structure, the observation tended to focus on key individuals involved in the
:transition from anomie to social order.
were not always the same individuals.
These individuals
Seen as crux figures
in the transition, they differed with the nature of the
disorder and with the necessary opportunities for continued
social activity.
It was, quite simply, a matter of social
necessity acted upon by those individuals 1-Ti th the keenest
cohesive power at the time of the structural breakdo1m.
Thus, the focus vms altered 1vi th each nerT social "crisis".
Each focus animal has played a vital role in maintaining
the group socially; and each appeared to be the only possible choice for maintaining and strengthening the nexus of
inter-individual cohesion after structural damage to the
group.
It seemed evident, as the data was interpreted,
'that it was the role of the focus animal that was essential to group cohesion.
In the '\'Tinter of 1973, observations were made using
both check-sheets and spatial charts.
'
At that time the ani-
;mals appeared to be functioning as a cohesive and inte-
26
27
grated unit with few agonistic displays and little tension
as expressed in extensive sequences of: scratching, squealing, hair-pulling, or masturbating.
servation is given in Table 2.
A summary of that ob-
It appears from the gross
!patterns of behavior noted in Table 2 that the No. 1 female
was firmly affixed in the ranking position.
The high inci-
dence of solitary behavior for the other
females indi-
~To
cated their secondary roles in the cohesiveness of the
group at that time.
It vTas the interaction between the No.
'1 female and the adult male that implied stability for the
group.
At times it is more productive to note not only the
actual interactions of individuals, but also the relative
proximities or social spheres of these same individuals.
For example, a juvenile male may never enter into a grooming sequence with an adult female but his spatial relation
to her might indicate ranking and affinity between the two.
Because this particular set of observations is being used
only as a baseline for social cohesion, no effort was made
to extend the spatial data to include the orientation of
members of tl1e group with respect to each other.
The fre-
quencies of proximities for November, 1973, are given in
:Table 3.
It is clear from the proximity measures that the reilationship bet"YTeen the .No. 1 female and the adult male was
the most consistent social
11
glue 11 •
It may be noted tP,at
the No. 2 female was in the unique position of being able
28
TABLE 2
· The socially behavioral interactions between adult females
and other group members of .the Los Angeles gelada group as
noted in six hours of observation in November, 1973.
No. 1 Female
With adult male
Grooming
Being groomed
Presenting
Initiating movement in which
the male follows
With No. 2 female
Other
56% ( 66 minutes)
13% ( 16 minutes)
10% ( 12 minutes)
10% ( 12 minutes)
3% (
4 minutes)
8% l10 minutesj
1OO% ( 120 minutes)
No. 2 Female
rli th her infant (No. 2 infant)
T~li th Nos. 1 and 3 females
rli th adult male
Hoving away from male
Self-grooming
Solitary
Mounted by juvenile male
Other
3% ( 4 minutes)
13% ( 16 minutes)
tO% ( 12 minutes)
6%
13%
46%
3%
(
(
(
{
7 minutes)
16 minutes)
54
4
_ 6% { 7
100% (120
minutes)
minutes)
minutes)
minutes)
26% ( 31
10% ( 12
20% ( 24
40% ( 48
minutes)
minutes)
minutes)
minutes)
No. 3 Female (newly adult)
With juvenile male
With infant
Self-grooming
Solitary
Other
4~ ( 5 minut~~l
100% (120 minutes)
29
TABLE 3
Frequencies of proximity between animals in which the noted
dyad were nearest each other from two hours o~ observation
in November, 1973.
No. 1 Female: No. 1 Infant
16% ( 20 minutes)
No. 2 Female: No. 2 Infant
30% (36 minutes)
No. 1 Female: Adult I'-lale
43% (52 minutes)
No. 2 F·emale: Adult i\fal e
O%
( 0 minutes)
No. 3 Female: Adult Hale
0%
( 0 minutes)
No. 1 Female: No. 2 Female
13% ( 16 minutes)
No. 1 Female: No. 3 Female
0%
( 0 minutes)
.No. 2 Femlae: No. 3 Female
6%
( 7 minutes)
No. 1 Infant: No. 2 Infant
26% (31 minutes)
O%
Juveniles: Adult IYiale
( 0 minutes)
-)}
-ll-Does not equal
simultaneously.
100j~
because pairs might be formed ·
c. ________ - - - · - - · · · - · - · - · - - - - - - - · - · · · - - - - - -· ---- -·-·---- ------- ----· -- ------------------
30
.to interact in two direction'- :,dthin the hierarchy because
of her middle-ranking
status~
These observations were compared with observations
made in January, 1973, when the group had not yet been dis-.
rupted.
In January, a subadult male and
adult females were part of the group.
were removed prior to October, 1973.
~10
additional
These three animals
In January it was
noted that all adult females spent some time in grooming
the adult male.
Bramblett (1970:331) noted:
although herding behaviors malce gelada males
conspicuous group members, these males are
not central to social interactions between
adult females.
While the adult male of this group may not have been central to interaction between the females, he Y.Tas central to
g~oup
interaction, acting perhaps as a catalyst.
The par-
ticular abundance of grooming partners observed in January,
1973, uas not evidenced again up to time of the death of
the adult male.
In 1:-larch, 1974, two sets of concurrent observations
were made.
One set of observations focused exclusively on
the interactions betrreen the adult male and the No. 1 female.
:4.
The results of that observation are given in Table
In tw·elve hours of observation (always midmorning to
insure a reduction of variables such as zoo visitors and
feeding sequences), the adult male spent 66.6 percent of
the observation time (480 minutes) in grooming activities
1 female, a ratio of 2:1 to his solitary be-
31
TABLE 4
Interactions between the adult male and other members of
the Los Angeles gelada group as noted in tv-Telve hours of
observation in Harch, 1974.
I
Adult male
Grooming No. 1 female
Being groomed by No. 1 female
Grooming mutually with Ho. 1
female
Solitary
16.5% ( 119 minutes)
47.6% (344 minutes)
2.5% ( 17 minutes)
:22·4% (240 rqi_:q,u tesj
1oo. 0% (720 minutes)
32
havior.
At no time did he interact wi
the group.
other members of
From the spatial charts used during the
1974 observations, other relationships "'·rere noted.
~larch,
Of pri-
mary interest to the problem under investigation rras the
'relationship between the large juvenile male (the subadult
male of later observations) and the other members o·f the
group.
In three hours of observation time, the juvenile
spent 30 minutes alone but nearest to the adult male, 42
minutes near the other juvenile and/or infants, 92 minutes
completely solitary, and 16 minutes near an adult female.
·He was, at this point in time, somevrhat peripheral to the
group vri th over half his time spent in social isolation.
Another set of observations was conducted during
:ro.Iarch and April, 1974·, 'h-rJ. th particular emphasis on the
adult male/larger juvenile male relationship.
of observation were noted on che6k-sheets.
sheets included categories of distance
These check-
be~neen
entation of t...i-J.e older, large juvenile male
the adult male.
Eight hours
and the ori-
i'ii th
respect to
Interactions between this juvenile animal
and other members of the group "'·Tere also recorded.
The
large juvenile (No. 2 male) had his most frequent interactions with the other juvenile male (No. 3 male).
These two
animals spent the majority of their time together; sitting,
:grooming, running and chasing.
His next most frequent in-
teractions were with the No. 3 adult female.
stance she groomed him briefly.
In each in-
However, his interactions
No. 3 male were more frequent than his interac-
33
tions with any other group member by a ratio of 14:1.
The
relationship between the No. 2 male and the adult male at
this time could be characterized as unervous 11 observation
and avoidance on the part of the juvenile and "nonrecognition" on the part of the adult.
This can be seen most
clearly in the orientation and distance data.
In only two
of the 220 observations \vas the juvenile in front of and
looking directly at the adult male, but the minimum distance betw·een them 1-ras six feet.
tion v.rere most common.
Ti-m patterns of orienta-
In one, the juvenile male l-Tould be
oriented in the same direction as the adult male rThile behind him by at least three feet.
The .second pattern, again
with the juvenile behind the adult, i·Tas for the juvenile to
be oriented artay from the adult at about 45 degrees.
The
juvenile and adult males had only two interactions during
this period of observation.
In both cases, an object had
been passed into the cage from the crowd and the adult male
hid it in his possession.
the adult male presenting.
The juvenile 1muld back toward
The adult male did not touch
or vocalize toward the presenting juvenile.
These two
occasions uere the only ones in wh1ch the juvenile Y.Tas the
individual closest to the adult male.
The relationship be-
tween these animals was one-directional.
'always aware of the adult male's location.
'
1
The juvenile ifas
The adult male
ignored the juvenile (Gelvin. and 1'/rubel 1975).
From May 19, 1974, until August 31, 1974, thirteen
l_QQU:rs of observation were noted at thirty second intervals,
34
.usually for a period of an hour a day.
The times of tile
observations varied in order to include morning grooming
.clusters, afternoon play, and late afternoon feeding.
Lit-
tle of that data is pertinent to this problem since the
group appeared to have achieved stability.
HOivever, cer-
,tain sets of behaviors should be noted, and trends of interactions wlll be presented.
A few· of these trends were
cut short by the transfer of the group from the wire cage
to the island and by the death of the adult male in October,
1974.
Other trends become important when viewed from the
vantage point of the ensuing anomie.
A male infant was born April 19, 1974, and the observations began to focus on his development and the relationship of his mother (No. 2 female) ui th the rest of the
group.
It was rrhile the infant vras still nursing that a
new grooming pair emerged and remained constant throughout
the summer.
The Ho. 2 female began to groom and to be
groomed by the No. 3 female almost exclusively.
The No. 1
female still groomed extensively inth the adult male but
she spent more time approaching and attempting to interact
with the No. 2 female and the ne·H infant.
was ignored.
At first she
)·ihile she still displaced l{o. 2, she was not
:allowed access to the infant except 1vhen supported by the
adult male.
However, he was usually more interested in
ibeing groomed by her than in entering into occasional vocal
!
interactions between the two females.
He appeared among
the female cluster only \vhen there lias a squeal from the .
35
On June 24, 1974·, a neu behavior for the group
infant.
appeared.
The Nos. 2 and 3 females formed a coalition by
displacing the No. 1 female from her usual place of feeding.
The No. 2 female eventually displaced her 11i th threat gestures.
The No. 1 female continually glanced back to the
adult male who finally joined her and chased away the No. 2
female.
Later the same day, the No. 1 female chose to sit
beside the No. 2 female but kept glancing tovmrds the adult
male.
The No. 2 just moved away.
It became obvious after
'this that rrhile the No. 1 female may be the highest ranking,
as measured by her proximity to the adult male, she was not
'allowed the same grooming and other social interactions
(such as holding and grooming the
infan~)
among the females.
She may have been the only animal allow·ed to "beg 11 with the
male, but she -rras not an integrated part of the female
cluster.
During these same sumrner months the juvenile
males ·Nere repeatedly displaced by the adult females.
It
was also during this period that the No. 4 female ( a subadult at that time) became the "outcast" of the group.
She
was periodically chased by nearly every adult animal including the adultmale.
She became the most easily recognized
animal from a.."'ly vantage point because of her increasing
bald patches.
The adult male also became involved in dis-
.putes with the No.2 male.
These episodes always followed
;noisy interactions between the No. 2 male and the adult
, females.
In mid-September, 1974, the group was moved into a
,.
36
dry island enclosure.
They were held for three -vreeks in
the night cages to acquaint them 11"i th their ne1-r surroundings.
While in the holding cages, a male infant vias born
to the No. 3 female (September 21, 1974) and the adult male
died.
On October 15, the group was released into the com-
pound and data collection began again October 16 and continued through 1-iarch 1, 1975.
The composition of t..h.e now
ten member group rras one subadul t male {No. 2 male), four
adult females, one older (No. 3 male) and two younger
juvenile males and
~io
infant males.
Observation during
October and November 1974 focused on the No. 2 male and his
interactions rii th other group members.
The subadul t male ·Nas the first animal to leave the
night cages and come out into the enclosure.
He was the
first to go down into the moat and to explore that part of
the new environment.
His role as "leader" in this situa-
tion rTas a nm·r one for him.
His pattern of social behavior
follm·fing the death of the adult male also chan3ed.
The
individual Hi th rihom the subadul t most frequently interacted rras no longer the older juvenile but, rather, the
No. 1 female.
The individual usually closest to the sub-
adult ·was a female or an infant.
Only once 1vas the older
juvenile observed to be the closest to the subadult, this
occurred when the subadult male groomed the juvenile for
i
approximately t11o minutes.
Host striking was the change in
. his interactions 1vi th the females.
This is best illustra-
ted _by .examining the grooming frequencies shown in Table 5.
37
TABLE 5
Grooming frequencies for the subadult male of the Los
Angeles gelada group as noted in sixteen and one-half
hours of observation in October and November, 1974.*
Subadult male
Self-grooming
30.20%
Grooming the older juvenile male 2.08%
Grooming the No. 1 female
5.21%
Groomed by the No. .lt- female
4.17%
Groomed by the No. 1 female
....2§~%
100.00%
( 29 minutes)
( 2 minutes)
( 5 minutes)
( 4 minutes)
(56. m~nu.t_e§l
(96 minutes)
*The subadult male was observed in grooming behavior for
.96 of 810 minutes (11.85 percent of observation time).
38
The subadult male permitted
~ne
younger juveniles to play
near and on him and iihen one of these animals presented to
him, he would touch its hindquarters or back, but he did
not so acknow·ledge presentations from the older juvenile
male.
The subadult male no longer chased or wrestled rdth
the older juvenile.
The individual most frequently dis-
placed by the subadult male was the older juvenile male.
Another indicator of the subadult's status change was that
he uas given first access to anything introduced into the
·enclosure.
After assuming the role of harem male, the subadult's
body size increased over that of the other members of the
group and he began to develop a darl<:: bro1m shoulder cape
and red chest patch.
The subadult male in this study moved
from a peripheral position in the group, where his interactions vTere primarily with juveniles, to a central position
where he interacts vrith females and infants (Gelvin ·and
Wrubel 1975).
The introduction of two female chimpanzees into the
enclosure during November, 1974, produced approximately two
weeks of constant
11
huddling 11 behavior with all members of
the group in close and frequent contact with each other •
. The appearance of a chimpanzee onto the island from the
.• moat resulted in an immediate abandonment of the area.
The
; subadult male was the only animal which approached the
; chimpanzees.
On one occasion he moved between a chimpanzee
• and the older juvenile male allorring the juvenile to return
39
to the rest of the group.
On another occasion he put out
his hand in a palm-up position "begging" a piece of apple
from one of the chimpanzees.
He was in a totally submis-
sive posture (keeping a lovr profile) and came rTi thin eightBy mid-December, 1974, the
een inches of the chimpanzee.
.group appeared to have become
11
relaxed" and "normal" pat-
terns of social interaction resumed.
Thus, the subadult
male lias groomed regularly by the No. 1 female.
The older
juvenile male (Ho. 3 male} was often close to the subadult,
but his behavior was reminiscent of the subadult's behavior
when he was in proximity to the now·-dead adult male.
For
example, "\"Then the subadul t 1·1as in the moat his movements
w·ere closely moni tered by the juvenile (No. 3 male) who
would "follow" him on t..he rim of the islaild.
He v.;ould sit
near the subadult yet slightly behind him where his direct
or peripheral observation of the.subadult could not be construed as threatening.
The No. 3 male appeared to be much
aware of the movements, postures, and facial gestures of
the subadult.
During January, 1975, the No. 4 female solicit.ed the
support of the juvenile male by presenting to him while
threatening the younger juveniles.
Temporarily employing a
third animal as an extension of one's own status or for
:avoidance of an aggressive act was not nmv to this group,
:but its reappearance indicated that the respective statuses
:of the individuals -vrere again being established along wellunderstood lilies within the group.
Hierarchically related
40
·behaviors again had "meaning" vd thin the context of consensual expectations manifested in stable social groups.
The No. 1 female came into estrous during February,
, 1975, and the subadult male uas observed making a full
sexual mount.
Although he had not yet reached full adult
size, his physical and social maturity appeared sufficient
·for him to include mounting behavior to his expanded role
·as harem male.
Certainly, ot...h.er aspects of the role were
becoming a larger component of his behaviors at this time.
He, like his predecessor, began to spend less time within
the group and more time on its edges interceding in dis:putes, being groomed, and being watched by the ever attentive older juvenile male.
'---····-------------·-·····-------------------
---·-····-·
------------- ---- ·--·
- ------- -- ···----····--- --------- -------·-·-·- ··--------
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSIONS
From Anomie to Stability
A social group, being composed of maturing, mortal,
and everchanging individuals, is a continually changing,
dynamic structure.
Social netv-rorks w·i thin the group dimi-
nish or intensify in response to growth and social matura,tion of individuals within the group.
group is a process.
In a real sense, the
Yet, it survives and continues Iii thin
patterns of behaviors that are shared by its members.
The
maintenance of the group depends on the shared expectations
.of the group in response to discr.ete signals, whet..11er behavioral or ecological.
It is when these expectations
cease to correspond to the reality of the environment that
anomie develops.
Appropriate signals may be sent but, when
they are met wi t..'rl inappropriate responses, social cohesion
breaks do-vm.
The T.
&el~
remain cohesive because of the many
inter-individual networks of relationships tdthin the
,group.
1·Thether these be of a dominance, kinship, age, or
:sex categories, the result is a strengthening of the social
matrix.
The behaviors "exchanged" through the nexus reaf-
firms established expectations.
Liebow (1967:203-204), in
L________ -------------- -.. ---- --- ------ -------------------------------- --- ·- ------ -------- -------------------- ----------------- ----------------------------------
41
42
:discussing the street-comer social group noted:
The overall picture is one of a broad i'ieb of
interlocldng, overlapping neti·mrks in which the
incumbents are constantly--how-ever irregularly-shifting and changing positions relative to one
another. This fluidity and change vlhich characterizes personal relationships is reflected in
neighbor and kin relationships, in family, household, indeed in the whole social structure of the
streetcorner world vrhich rests to so large an
extent precisely on the primary face-to-face
relationships of the personal netvrork.
This web of netw·orks rlas confirmed in the gelada lvi th the
initial observations of this study.
Behaviors were ex-
changed ivi th predictable frequencies and responses through
time.
Once the networks '\'rere analyzed, a pattern of sta-
bility was evident in the behavior of the geladas.
With the transfer of the group from their familiar,
,rrire cage environment to a new one and the death of the
adult male, the group entered a phase of anomie.
This was
evidenced in the lack of predictability of social behaviors.
.
.
One of the mothers became highly restrictive of her infant,
keeping him near her at all times by
11
tail-leashing" (hold-
ing the infant by his tail).
This behavior had never before
been observed in this group.
The juvenile male (No. 3 male)
acted out a submissive sequence uith the subadult male
which included holding onto his own tail and biting it.
This tail-biting behavior had not been observed before.
In-
'
:tense huddling behavior occurred.
Aggression appeared to
i
!increase; although not directly observed, evidence was provided by the increasing number of bald spots on some of the
,animals.
L·--·-----------
Play behavior was nonexistent.
Each animal was
43
·behaving in a manner peculiar to its functional role yet
each uas displaying unusual m.anifestations of that role.
The mother became restrictive.
,more submissive.
,
The infants became more, not less, depen-
'dent on their mothers.
Behavior was no longer consistent
with established patterns,
apparent.
·:rhe subordinate male became
an~
to the observer, anomie was
Yet the group moved from anomie to stability,
and it is the process of movement and the mechanisms of
that process that -rrere of particular interest here.
S tab}.li.:t.,y and._Jio le flillction
F edigan ( 1972) reported the following as acti vi"ties
peculiar to the adult, harem male gelada baboon: (1) he
spends a large amount of time being groomed, (2) he has
:more interactions with females than "\vi th males, ( 3) he has
more interactions with females than with juveniles, (4) he
has more friendly than hostile interactions with females,
and ( 5) he has no friendly interactions -rri t..11 juveniles.
The adult male's activities for the Los Angeles group were
consistent 1d th this role pattern proposed by Fedigan.
He
spent a great amount of time being groomed (for Harch, 1974,
he spent 66.6 percent of his time in grooming activity with
:the No. 1 female during observation periods).
His inter-
actions -rrere exclusively with the females of the group.
His only contact with the juvenile males occurred 1-1ith
. their initiation, although he did not respond.
His only
ihostile interactions with the females involved one instance
44
.of supporting a displacement sequence initiated by the No.1 •
female and an occasional chasing of the No. 4 female.
adult male was a central animal in the group.
The
He was a
•peripheral animal only in the sense that he was rarely
clustered with more than one female at any time.
his influence on the group was immense.
However,
Any sudden move-
ment, gesture, or vocalization of the adult male brought
instant response from all members of the group.
Thus, each
appeared to be aware, both spatially and posturely, of his
position within the social milieu.
Even with this obvious
attention being paid by all members of the group to the
adult male, one animal was noted to be continual visual
contact with the adult male.
The large juvenile (No. 2
male) was qual:l.tatively and quantitatively more observant.
The awareness of the other members of the group was often
implied from their reactions to the adulut male's vocalizations or sudden movements.
Hoi-Tever, there was never a need
to infer anareness on the part of the subadult male.
In
analyzing data from a period of intense awareness of the
adult male and from the period where the subadult functioned
in this previously observed role, it appears that this
attentiveness is a process of learning.
The subadult was
learning appropriate role behavior.
Role Shift
The death of the adult male left the gelada group
rTithout a control animal.
Bernstein (1966) noted that the
45
control animal positions himself between disturbance and
the group, attacks whoever distresses a group member, and
;approaches and terminates many cases of intra-group disturbance.
Crook (1970:152) stated:
Group members pay close attention to a control
animal, keeping close to him, and enlisting his
aid in protection. The disappearance of a control animal usually results in another adopting
the same role. The potentiality for playing the
role is therefore present at least in some individuals well in advance of their performance of
it.
And Rowell (1972:172) postulated:
One interesting possibility is that many of the
traits that fieldworkers have taken to be individual characteristics may in fact be age-specific patterns •••• supposing, for example, that the
role of alpha male, or of the control animal,
was one that most males assumed for a short period some time in the middle years of adulthood,
and not a rare characteristic of a few animals.
An age-specific behavior is an intriquing possibility for
role assumption.
Ho-rrever, the subadult male who took on
the role in the Los Angeles group was not yet socially nor
physically adult--an age level that one rrould expect to
have been reached for the socially functioning of the control role.
Interestingly, upon assumption of the role the
yotmg male began to grow dramatically so that within less
than a month his size had increased noticeably.
It appears
'that either the absence of the adult male and/or the alteration of roles may have been linked to a hormonal production allowing for the rapid attainment of adult stature.
is a tentative
~uggestion.
began to function in his role of con-
46
trol animal in a tentative way when the group first emerged
into their nevi enclosure.
fragmentary.
His assumption of the role was
And social cohesiveness correlated highly
, with the expansion of appropriate behaviors in this animal •.
As expectations became more unified with regards to his behavior, stability within the group returned.
Behavioral
responses again became predictable on both an individual
and group level.
Continuity for this group is predicted.
juvenile observes the subadult continuously.
The oldest
It may be
suggested that he is in the process of learning the behav·iors essential for the functioning of the control animal
within a cohesive, integrated social matrix.
Only another
, disruption of equal magnitude in 11hich this juvenile could
be observed assuming the role generally reserved for mature
males would validate this hypothesis.
However, the data
suggest that it is in this intense attentiveness of the
juvenile males that the continuity of one role crucial to
the cohesiveness of the group is maintained.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Andrew, R. J.
1963 The Origin and Evolution of the Calls and Facial
Expressions of the Primates. Behavior, 20:1-109.
Bernstein, I. S.
1975 Activity Patterns in a Gelada Monkey Group.
primatol., 23:50-71.
Bernstein, I. s. and L. G. Sharpe
1966 Social Roles in a Rhesus Monkey Group.
26:91-104.
Bramblett, C. A.
1970 Coalitions among Gelada Baboons.
327-333.
Folia
Behavior,
Primates, 11:
Crook, J • H.
1966 Gelada Baboon Herd Structure and Movement, a Comparative Report. Symp. zool. Soc. Lond. 18:
237-258.
1970
Social Behavlor in Birds and l·iammals.
Press·, ~ri"don:-- -
Academic
Crook, J. H. and P. Aldrich-Blake
1968 Ecological and Behavioral Contrasts Betw·een Sympatric Ground DHelling Primates in Ethiopia. Folia
primatol. 8:192-227.
Crook, J. H. and J. s. Gartlan
1966 Evolution of Primate Societies.
1203.
Nature, 210:1200-
Denny, M. R. and s. c. Ratner
1970 ~rative PsycholpE;,X.: Research in Animal Behavior.
The :Dorsey-Press, HomewoOd.-~ -Illinois.
Falconer, D. s.
1960 l.P-~X:P~.c;~ton ..1!.Q gl1.?·11!-1_E.t}.ve Genetics.
Press Company, New York.
·rhe Ronald
Fedigan, L. M.
' 1972 Roles and Activities of Male Geladas ( Theropi thecy_s
gelaft~).
Behaviour, 41:(1-2):82-90.
:Gelvin, D. T. and J. K. Wrubel
' 1975 And Some Have Greatness Thrust Upon Them. Paper
presented to_ the forty-fourth annual meeting of the
American Association of Physical Anthropologists,
Denver, Colorado.
47
48
Harlow, H. F.
1951 Primate Learning, in C. P. Stone (ed.) ComEarative
Psy<;;_h.£?~·
Prentice-Hall, New· York.
1958
The Nature of Love.
Amer. Psychol., 13:673-685.
Hill, 11. C• 0 •
1970 gimates: Comparative !,D;atom..Y.: and 1.axonom..y Y.lli.
Cyno~ithecina~.
Wiley-Interscience, New York.
Hirsch, J. ed.
1967 Behavior-Genetic An?-,l.Y.si s.
pany, H e1iYork.Jolly,
1970
c.
McGrmi-Hill Book Com-
J.
The Seed-Eaters: A New Model of Hominid Differentiation Based on a Baboon Analogy. Man, N.S.
5:5-27.
Kummer, H.
1971 Primate Societies.
Liebow, E.
1967 Jally's Corner.
Aldine•Atherton, Inc., Chicago.
Little, Brown and Company, Boston.
Manosevitz, N., G. Lindzey and D. D. Thiessen
1969 Behavioral Genetics: I:1ethod and Research. Appletoncentury::croTts.e~ l>leredlth Cor-poration, ':New York •
. Mayr, E.
1974
Behavior Programs and Evolutionary Strategies.
American Scientist, Vol. 62, No. 6:650-659.
Merton, R. K.
1964 Anomie, anomia, and Social Interaction. In Anomie
and Deviant Behavior. .lYiarshall B. Clinard (eeL-;.
The Free Pre~-New York.
Rowell, Thelma
1972 .§..o,cia_l Behavior Qf .HonkEU.§..
more.
Wilson,
1972
Penguin Books, Bal ti~
c. c.
Spatial Factors and the Behavior of Nonhuman Primates. Folia. primatol., 18:256-275.
~-~---------·----···-- --------
-· ··-·-··-----·-- ·--- -- ·-·····-·--· -··-··---- -- ··-----··------ ----··-·-----·-·
----~--------·------·--~·--·------~----------------·----·i