by Ian Gilby:
Beethoven joined the study community in December, 1973 at the
age of four. He arrived with Harmony, who was probably his older
sister. It seems likely that their mother had recently died,
and 9 year-old Harmony "adopted" her younger brother. Beethoven
was a serious little chimp and didn't play much. He interfered
desperately whenever he saw males mating. He remained small
and took a long time to reach adult size. Interestingly, Beethoven
"adopted" a young female chimp later in his life. He formed
a close bond with a young orphan named Dilly, whose mother had
disappeared. As Dilly grew up, she and Beethoven spent a great
deal of time together, travelling as a pair, grooming frequently,
and nesting near each other at night. For years, we wondered
why these two had such a close relationship. Did Beethoven remember
what it was like to be an orphan, taking pity on this young
chimp, or was something else going on? In 1999, we learned something
that may explain this unusual bond. DNA analysis showed that
Beethoven is probably Dilly's father. While this is the first
known father-daughter "adoption", perhaps it indicates that
male chimps are indeed able to sense who their children are.
Beethoven is one of my favorite chimps. He has a very unusual
face (I think he looks a lot like his namesake!), and has some
great facial expressions. This is very obvious when he is begging
for meat. He rarely catches his own prey, and is extremely persistent
in his efforts to get some meat from those that do. He sits
very close to the meat possessor, grinning and grimacing as
he tugs on the carcass and clasps his hands over the possessor’s
mouth. He never gives up, always returning after he is chased
away. Because of this, he is very successful in persuading higher-ranking
males to give him a piece of their catch.
Emily writes:
Sadly Beethoven is no longer a part of the Kasekela community
at Gombe. He disappeared in November of 2002 and was never seen
again. He apparently was affected by the same weight loss that
males Goblin, Frodo, Kris and Apollo experienced. However, his
legacy will continue as genetics now reveal he fathered offspring
within the community.
|
