570 PRtMATBS, 22(4): 570-573, October 1981

The Maternal Behavior of a Home-reared,

Language Using Chimpanzee*

DIANA DAVIS, ROGER S. FOUTS and MARK E. HANNUM

The University of Oklahoma at Norman

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study was (1) to evaluate general maternal behavior and (2) to
determine if the presence of a human observer altered the maternal behavior of the home-reared, lan-
guage using chimpanzee towards an adopted infant. The results showed that the subject, Washoe,
was responsive to the behavior of the infant and was an adequate care-giver. However, the style of
care-giving behavior was substantially altered by the presence of a human observer.

INTRODUCTION

The following report is a preliminary attempt to evaluate and categorize the relevant be-
haviors of the mother-infant interaction. Specifically, we hoped to gain some understanding
of the home-reared chimpanzee's maternal behavior as a function, of the presence or absence
of human beings. The repeated failures of both captive chimpanzees and home-reared chim-
panzees to adequately care for their infants is at once distressing and of significant empirical
interest. For the purpose of this study we restricted our evaluation of m a t e ~ a l behavior to
those variables which we felt would effect the well-being of the infant as well as those variables
which we felt might have some effect on subsequent research efforts presently in progress at
the University of Oklahoma.
Ideally, the present study should have been conducted with a natural offspring of the sub-
ject, Washoe. However, there were problems with the infant. On January 6, 1979 a male infant,
Sequoyah, was born to Washoe. For unknown reasons, the infant was a very lethargic neonate
and failed to nurse. Hence, the infant was separated from its mother and given over to hu-
man care-givers until such time as he was strong enough to be reintroduced. It was during this
separation that Washoe was given a 2-year-old male infant to mother.
During routine observations on the mother adopted son pair, it was noticed that the female
directed a great deal of attention towards the human observer and also appeared to solicit the
human's attention via non-verbal communication, vocalizations and Ameslan (American
Sign Language). Hence, the present study was conducted in order to quantify Washoe's be-
havior towards the infant in the presence or absence of a human observer.

METHOD

SUBJECTS

The subjects of this study were an adolescent female chimpanzee, Washoe, and a young

*Support for the research reported and preparation of this paper was provided by the National Sci-
ence Foundation (BNS77-23842).
 Maternal Behavior of a Home-reared, Language Using Chimp 571

male chimpanzee, Abindigo. Washoe, the female in the study, was born in the wild, but raised
from the approximate age of 10 months to the age o f 5 years by Drs. R. ALLEN and BEATRICE
GARDNER and their staff of graduate research assistants in Reno, Nevada. It is uncertain as to
how much time she actually spent with her own biological mother but undoubtedly less than
six months. However, she was reared in a human home environment, was taught and has
used Ameslan since infancy. In October, 1970 Washoe arrived at the Institute for Primate
Studies in Norman, Oklahoma. Since coming to the Institute, Washoe has given birth to one
infant who died shortly thereafter due to a severe congenital heart defect. A second infant,
born January 6, 1979, was removed from her care that day due to general lethargy and a
failure to nurse. Washoe was 13 years old at the time of the study.
The infant, Abindigo, was born at the Institute o f Primate Studies in Norman, Oklahoma
to an adult female chimpanzee named Cindy. Abindigo was housed with his own mother for
approximately two years. Seven days prior to his introduction to Washoe, he was separated
from his natural mother and placed in a cage with several other juveniles. Three days after his
introduction to Washoe, the present data was collected.

PROCEDURE
Six consecutive 20-minute videotapes were recorded continuously of the two subjects.
Three tapes were recorded in the presence of a h u m a n observer. The presence of the observer
in the sequence was counterbalanced over the six tapes. The observer remained a constant
throughout the experiment and was someone with whom Washoe was very familiar. The
video-tape recorder was kept outside the building housing Washoe so that the subjects were
unaware of tape changes. The video camera itself was /eft inside the building so that the
subjects became accustomed to its presence.
U p o n completion of the videotaping, the tapes were analyzed for selected variables by two
experienced videotape analyzers who were naive to the experimental manipulations. The
behaviors selected for analysis were chosen apriori and were an attempt to gain some under-
standing of maternal behavior. The list is by no means exhaustive.

RESULTS

The percentages, based on total frequencies, for selected behaviors are given in Tables 1, 2
and 3. Table 1 gives the percentages for six of the most frequent behaviors manifested by
Washoe. It is readily apparent that Washoe exhibited particular behaviors dependent upon the
experimental condition. When an observer was present, Washoe tended to approach, touch
and withdraw from the infant Abindigo. This behavioral sequence is shown rather strikingly

Table 1. Frequencies of selected maternal behaviors.*

With (~) Without (%) Total frequency
Approach 90 10 20
Withdraw 79 21 24
Touch 66 34 38
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sit by 29 71 14
Hold 33 67 9
Response to distress 10 90 10
*Based on the total frequency of the given behavior in both "with observer" and "without observer" condi-
tions.
572 D. DAVIS,R. S. FOUTS & M. E. I-IANNUM

Table 2. Frequency of approach behaviors.*

With Without Total frequency
of approach-touch-withdraw sequences 100 (6) 0 (0) 6
Total approaches 90 (18) 10 (2) 20
Ratio of approach-touch-withdraw sequences to
total number of approaches 30 (6) 0 (0) 20
*Based on the total frequency of the given behavior in both "with observer" and "'without observer" con-
ditions. Total N is given in parentheses for each condition.

Table 3. Duration of selected maternal behavior.*

With (~) Without (%) Total time (min)
Oriented towards 31 67 125
Mean duration of response
to distress .08 .07 2
*Based on the total recorded time for all six tapes.

in Table 2. The approach-touch-withdraw sequence was only observed in the presence of an

observer and constituted 30 ~o of all approaches recorded in the "with observer" condition.
When no observer was present, the predominant behavior on the part of Washoe was sitting
by the infant and holding the infant.
Table 3 evaluates Washoe's orientation towards the infant (total time shoulders were orient-
ed parallel to the infant/the total recorded time) and her general responsiveness to the infant
(time required for Washoe to react appropriately to a display of distress by the infant, i.e.,
embrace, genital-touch, openmoutk kiss, etc.). Unfortunately, the figures showing the mean
duration of response to the infant's distress are difficult to evaluate due to the fact that Abin-
digo showed identifiable signs of distress only once while an observer was present. However,
Washoe's response was not only appropriate but speedy. There is no apparent difference be-
tween conditions. There is less difficulty interpreting Washoe's orientation to the infant how-
ever. As may have been predicted from the previous data, Washoe was oriented towards the
infant more when no observer was present.
lnterobserver reliability was calculated by a Pearson's r for each tape with the mean r
equalling .91 over the six tapes.

DISCUSSION

Research in recent years (GARDNERt%GARDNER,1969, 1971 ; FOUTS, 1973, 1974) has shown
that chimpanzees can both comprehend and produce American Sign Language (Ameslan) in
an enriched environment when taught by humans. Presently in progress at the University of
Oklahoma is research exploring the acquisition, use and transfer of Ameslan by chimpan-
zees, as well as the integration of Ameslan into the natural communication (non-verbal) of
the chimpanzee. Specifically, this research is designed to examine the possibility that chim-
panzees, who are proficient in Ameslan and who were home-reared by h u m a n parents, will
transmit their acquired Ameslan to their offspring when housed in an enriched environment.
Ttlis present study is a by-product of this larger effort and concentrates on the maternal care-
giving of the home-reared chimpanzee in question to an adopted infant.
The predominant findings of this study are relatively straightforward, Washoe's maternal
behavior changed dramatically in style as a function of the presence or absence of an ob-
Maternal Behavior of a Home-reared, Language Using Chimp 573

server. However, the study does raise some questions for further research of this nature. The
major thrust of this research should probably concern itself with the role of home-rearing of
non-human primates on maternal behavior. The maternal bond has been given a good deal of
theoretical attention of late (RAJECKI, LAMB t~r OBMASCHER,1978), but the experimental side
of this question has been largely neglected, especially in chimpanzees. Further research might
be assigned to evaluate the role of heredity, environment and early experience on later mater-
nal behavior. For unknown reasons, captivity raised chimpanzees often display p o o r mater-
nal behavior. The cause might lie in the type of environment; i.e., cage rearing, jungle rear-
ing or enriched home rearing; the quality o f rearing; the quantity of rearing; or some cova-
riate of all t h r e e - - o r perhaps they display poor maternal behavior in the presence of hu-
mans and not in the absence of humans.
In any case, Washoe's maternal behavior is o f great significance to those involved in
Washoe's transmission of sign language to her infant. Assuming that her orientation to the
infant is indicative of her attention to the infant, her relative inattention in the presence of ob-
servers might hinder the infant's rate of acquisition of Ameslan. When no observer is present,
this problem does not exist; Washoe spends a great deal of time in direct contact with the in-
fant or oriented towards the infant.
The finding that Washoe manifests two dramatically different styles of care-giving is not
altogether surprising. But an explanation of this behavior is not readily available until we
learn more about the problems of inter-species contact. In the meantime, we can only pro-
pose that human parents might behave analogously when visitors drop in to visit and, in
essence, interrupt the normal, triadic relationship. However, Washoe's consistantly good care
of her adopted infant was a major factor in our decision to find an adopted infant for her after
the death of her own son in March 1979.

REFERENCES

Founts, R. S., 1973. Acquisition and testing of gestural signs in four young chimpanzees. Science,
180: 978-980.
- - , 1974. Language: origins, definitions and chimpanzees. J. Hum. EvoL, 3: 475--482.
GARDNER, B. T. & R. A. GARDNER, 1971. Two-way communication with an infant chimpanzee. In:
Behavior o f Non-human Primates, Vol. 4, A. M. SCHRIER& F. STOLLNITZ(eds.), Academic Press,
New York, pp. 117-183.
GARDNER,R. A. & B. T. GARDNER,1969. Teaching sign language ~oa chimpanzee. Science, 165:
664-672.
RAJECKI, D. W., M. E. LAMB• P. OBMASCHER,1978. Toward a general theory of infantile attach-
ment: a comparative review of aspects of the social bond. Behav. Brain Sci., 1 : 417-464.

- - R e c e i v e d March 27, 1980; Accepted March 6, 1981

Authors' Names and Present Addresses: DIANADAVIS,Department of Psychology, The University of Oklahoma
at Norman, 455 West Lindsey, Room 705, Norman, Oklahoma 73019, U.S.A. ; ROGERS. FOUTS,Department of
Psychology, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington 98926, U.S.A.; MARKE. HANNUM,16
Stratford Lane, St. Louis, Missouri 63144, U.S.A. (Request for reprints and other correspondence should be
sent to R. S. Fotrrs.)