Chimpanzees Introduce New Fashion Trend to Animal Kingdom

Chimpanzees Introduce New Fashion Trend to Animal Kingdom

A group of Zambian chimpanzees have begun sticking blades of grass into their ears as a fashion statement.

A Zambian chimpanzee takes part in the new trend.  Grass blade
earrings serve no purpose for the chimp other than as ornaments. 

Humans aren't the only ones who worry about their look. A study published in the journal Animal Cognition describes a group of chimps in Zambia who began their own fad.

The Beginning of the Trend

It all started when Julie, a chimpanzee in Zambia's Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust Sanctuary, repeatedly put blades of grass in both her ears. Primate Expert and lead researcher at the Max Planck Institute Edwin van Leeuwen says, “The grass-in-ear behavior is not far removed from a human fad. I’d say this could be the equivalent of people wearing earrings or certain kinds of hats.”

The Following 

A pair of chimps help each other with the latest trend.  The blades of grass act as earrings or ornaments for the two.  

After Julie the chimp began the trend, van Leeuwen saw that eight of the twelve chimps began copying her. Van Leeuwen said, “They spontaneously copied the arbitrary behavior from a group member. Chimpanzees have a tendency to learn from one another – clearly a case of “monkey see, monkey do” in fact.”  The blades of grass serve no actual purpose.  The chimps use them the way humans use earrings. 

Van Leeuwen's observations show that there’s nothing random about individual chimpanzees sticking grass into their ears.  The act of putting blades of grass into their ears is a way for the chimpanzees to identify themselves in a group.  

“This reflects chimpanzees’ proclivity to actively investigate and learn from group members’ behaviors in order to obtain biologically relevant information.”  

A chimpanzee shows off its newest blade of grass.  The grass acts as a form of identity to the groups.

   

What Does It Mean?

The scientists say there are no genetic or ecological factors that influenced this behavior. The only influence for the trend is the culture of the group of chimpanzees. The grass shows artistic conceptualization, pre-planning, tool-use and culture. It's as if the grass identifies the chimps as members of a social group.  In fact, it doesn't even matter if the origins of the trend are unknown. 

“The fact that these behaviors can be arbitrary and outlast the originator speaks to the cultural potential of chimpanzees.”  

Further on in the future, the offspring of these chimps could use blades of grass with no knowledge of why they do it. 

Van Leeuwen says his research on 700 hours of footage may seem insignificant, but it closely relates to human culture and behaviors.  He says humans

 wouldn't have modern society or any of the comforts that we have created for ourselves, without one of our ancestors having the idea of fashion, culture, and hitting things with rocks and sticks.  

Therefore, keep a lookout for these trend setting chimps.  They may be onto something bigger than you think.

  

Chimps as Fashionistas: Jewelry in the Primate World

African Chimpanzees show off their grass "jewelry" in an interesting

encounter (video courtesy of Barry Gordemer).

A group of Zambian chimpanzees are sticking a blade of grass in their ears. Are chimps experiencing their first “fad”?

In a recent study published in the Journal Animal Cognition, lead researcher Edwin van Leeuwen, a primate expert at the Max Planck Institute in the Netherlands said that “The grass-in-ear behavior is not far removed from a human fad. I’d say this could be the equivalent of people wearing earrings or certain kinds of hats.”

Doctor Leeuwen describes his goals as unearthing “the circumstances under which chimpanzees learn (socially), the conformist bias and the suggested conservative nature of their behavioral choices.”

Jewelry for Chimps?

The grass serves as a social symbol for some primates, Van
Leeuwen says. (Photo Courtesy of Barry Gordemer).

This “grass-in-ear behavior” is like jewelry or fashion. The research team studied 700 hours of video footage to understand how the ‘grass-in-ear’ trend developed in four groups of chimps.

The scientists found that there were no genetic or ecological factors that influenced this behavior, therefore, culture is the only thing that would account for the behavior. It is as if the grass identifies chimps as members of a team or a social club.

Van Leeuwen suggests that those animals that find a specific behavior somehow rewarding will continue to do so on their own, even if the chimpanzee they have learned it from is no longer around.  “The fact that these behaviors can be arbitrary and outlast the originator speaks to the cultural potential of chimpanzees.”

The Anthropology of Chimpanzees

Van Leeuwen says that when we look at these chimps who decided to make ear adornments part of their culture, what we are also seeing is one of the profound steps that our own ancestors took. It’s animal anthology at its finest. 

Although a blade of grass in the ear seems rather insignificant, we would not have modern society or any of the comforts that we have created for ourselves, without one of our ancestors having the idea of fashion, culture, and hitting things with rocks and sticks. 

“Monkey See, Monkey Do”

In 2010, van Leeuwen first noticed that the chimps repeatedly put a stiff, straw-like blade of grass for no apparent reason in one or both of her ears. The chimp, Julie, is in Zambia’s Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust sanctuary. On subsequent visits, van Leeuwen saw that other chimpanzees in her group had started to do the same. “They spontaneously copied the arbitrary behavior from a group member. Chimpanzees have a tendency to learn from one another – clearly a case of ‘monkey see, monkey do’ in fact.”

Van Leeuwen says that “the observations show that there’s nothing random about individual chimpanzees sticking grass into their ears.”

Chimpanzees To Be the Next Fashionistas?

 Sticking grass in their ears, have chimpanzees started a trend?

This Zambani Chimpanzee is taking up the latest fashion and by putting a piece of grass in its ear. (Photo by Liz Simon from National Geographic) 

This just in! The new fashion trend is…grass? Researchers say that chimpanzees may be starting fashion trends of their own. A group of Zambian chimpanzees have been sticking straw-like blades of grass in their ears and wearing them. Lead researcher Edwin van Leeuwen, thinks this behavior is no different than a human wearing a hat. He says, “The grass-in-ear behavior is not far removed from a human fad. I’d say this could be the equivalent of people wearing earrings or certain kinds of hats.”

Where did the Trend Start?

Van Leeuwen first noticed this grass-in-ear behavior in 2010 from a chimpanzee named Julie in the Zambia’s Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust sanctuary. He saw her repeatedly put stiff blades of grass in one or both ears for no apparent reason. During one visit, van Leeuwen saw that Julie had created a trend. Eight of the 12 chimpanzees in Julie’s group copied her and were wearing blades of grass in their ear just like Julie. The first to copy her was her son Jack, followed by Kathy, Miracle, and Val, who she regularly interacted with.

                                                                              Miracle sits next to Julie who is putting a piece of grass in her ear.

The Study

To understand how this “grass-in-ear” trend developed, van Leeuwen and his team studied 700 hours of video footage. The results of the study determined that since there is no genetic or ecological factors that influenced this behavior the, only thing that would account for it is culture. “The observations show that there’s nothing random about individual chimpanzees sticking grass into their ears,” says van Leeuwen. He suggests that when we look at these chimps who decided to make ear adornments part of their culture, what we are also seeing is one of the profound steps that our own ancestors took.

Although a blade of grass in the ear may seem like nothing, we must remember that modern society would not exist without one of our ancestors taking a step towards the idea of culture, fashion, and hitting rocks together.

Chimpanzees Only Need Grass to Create Culture

The behaviors of Zambian chimpanzees suggest that they create their own culture.

 

This chimpanzee in Zambia has stuck a blade of grass in his or her ear on Nov. 11, 2014. 

Wearing grass in your ear has become a custom for the chimpanzees after 

one of them started it in 2010. (Liz Simon/National Geographic) 

 

Julie is a chimpanzee in Zambia’s Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust Sanctuary. Researcher Edwin van Leeuwen noticed that she started putting blades of grass in her ears in 2010.

Julie started a trend. Other chimps in her group started putting grass in their ears too.

Edwin van Leeuwen’s Observations

Van Leeuwen is a primate expert from the Netherlands. He is the lead researcher of a team observing why four groups of chimpanzees stick grass in their ears.

The team looked at 700 hours of videos to find out how the practice started.    

Zambian chimpanzees learned from each other to put grass in their ears.  

Van Leeuwen found that:

• The chimp’s actions aren’t random
• They are learning from each other to put grass in their ears
• It is the human equivalent of wearing earrings or a hat

“Chimpanzees have a tendency to learn from one another – clearly a case of ‘monkey see, monkey do’ in fact,” Van Leeuwen said.

These findings were published by the journal Animal Cognition.

Grass as a Fashion Statement

It was found that the grass in the chimp’s ears does not serve an actual purpose. The blades of grass are like a piece of jewelry.  

Scientists say that culture is the reasoning behind this behavior. The grass could be seen as an identifier for the group.

The custom continued to be practiced by other chimps after Julie, the creator of it, died.  

In Human Terms

Van Leeuwen linked the chimpanzees’ creation of a custom to the steps our ancestors took. The chimps’ use of grass as a fashion piece shows the basic steps to creating larger cultural change.

Chimps Start Their Own Fashion Trend

A group of Zambian chimpanzees have been sticking a blade of grass in their ears. Is this the new stylish craze within the chimpanzee community? “This could be the equivalent of people wearing earrings or certain kinds of hats,” says researcher Edwin van Leeuwen.

Edwin van Leeuwen, a primate expert at the Max Planck Institute, in The Netherlands, first noticed the behavior in 2010. Julie, one of the chimps in Zambia’s Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust sanctuary, repeatedly put a stiff, straw-like blade of grass in one or both of her ears for no apparent reason.

A chimpanzee donning the "grass in the ear" look in the
Zambia Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage.
 (Photo by Liz Simon/National Geographic) 

The Study:

Over the course of several visits, Leeuwen noticed that other chimps began to follow suit. Eight of the 12 chimpanzees in her group mimicked Julie’s behavior. “They spontaneously copied the arbitrary behavior from a group member. Chimpanzees have a tendency to learn from one another – clearly a case of “monkey see, monkey do” in fact,” van Leeuwen said.

Van Leeuwen’s team studied 700 hours of video footage to understand how the ‘grass-in-ear’ trend developed in four groups of chimps. The “grass-in-ear behavior,” as scientists have termed it serves no apparent purpose. The blades of grass appear to be ornamental like jewelry or fashion similar to a human fad.

A chimp puts a blade of grass in their ear.
(Photo by Liz Simon/National Geographic)

But Why?

Scientists concluded that there are no genetic or ecological factors that influenced this behavior. Instead culture seems to be the only thing to account for it. “The fact that these behaviors can be arbitrary and outlast the originator speaks to the cultural potential of chimpanzees,” van Leeuwen said.

The grass shows artistic conceptualization, pre-planning, and tool-use. It is as if the grass identifies chimps as members of a team or a social club. This behavior may prove that the primates are capable of creating their own culture. “The observations show that there’s nothing random about individual chimpanzees sticking grass into their ears,” van Leeuwen said.

Van Leeuwen suggests that those animals that find a specific behavior somehow rewarding will continue to do so on their own. When Julie, the chimp who originated the behavior, died, other chimps continued the custom. Which means this fad could be hot for a while.

Video: 

Two chimps put grass in each other's ears (Video courtesy of the London Times)