Hand-to-hand and hand-to-foot clapping appear to be used in threat or display, similar to branch-shaking. The combination of vocalizations and clapping may alert other chimpanzees in the area to the presence of potential danger (e.g. humans).
Myth: Chimps can smile like humans do.
Chimps make this expression when they are afraid, unsure, stressed, or wanting to appear submissive to a more dominant troop member.
Some scientists suspect spontaneous smiles in these monkeys echo the development of our own expressions. Scientists from the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University in Japan have observed these spontaneous smiles in Japanese macaques for the first time, according to a new study published in the journal Primates.
Considering the function of gestural communication, monkeys and apes use the majority of their gestures to request actions like grooming, play or mating.
The gorillas hand clapped only to initiate play or as a part of play and during vigilance. Hand clapping during play was observed in females, both adult and juvenile, and in the older infant male, Kusu.
Mountain Gorillas often beat their chests whenever they perceive a threat or danger. When the chest beatings occur, it indicates that the Gorilla is charging at a human or any rival. This is one of the warning signs that a Gorilla is definitely going to attack if you don't stay away from its territory.
Other great apes like gorillas, chimps and orangutans sometimes clap their hands to draw attention.
They noted also a link between social gazing and granting of a reward, which suggested the monkeys were aware of what they were doing—they also reported witnessing eye blinking that they deemed indicative of empathy when a punishment was chosen.
A "threat" face (open mouth, ears and forehead forward, presumed to be the expression for anger, when a monkey is threatening others) A "lip smack" (lips are smacked together over and over again, presumed to be the expression for affiliation or appeasement)
Facial expressions and vocalizations are the primary means for communicating about emotion among primates. Several independent lines of evidence suggest that the facial expression repertoire of related primate species, despite highly varied patterns of social organization, is very similar.
In primates, showing the teeth, especially teeth held together, is almost always a sign of submission. The human smile probably has evolved from that. "In the primate threat, the lips are curled back and the teeth are apart--you are ready to bite.
Grooming, for example, shows affection and respect. And when it's time for a fight, a monkey with whom you've built a friendship is much more likely to fight at your side — or clean your wounds afterward!
In most primates, eye contact is an implicit signal of threat, and often connotes social status and imminent physical aggression. However, in humans and some of the gregarious nonhuman primates, eye contact is tolerated more and may be used to communicate other emotional and mental states.
Capuchin monkeys are known for their ability to recognize when they're being treated inequitably, but it now appears the primates can even spot unfairness in situations that don't involve themselves.
Lip smacking is a social behavior that usually results in friendly interactions between monkeys in a social group. Often, a monkey will lip smack to a more dominant monkey as a sign of submission.
Monkeys enjoy performing charitable acts and are capable of empathising with members of their own species, according to US researchers. The team taught capuchin monkeys a game involving food handouts in which players could adopt a selfish or helpful strategy.
“If you smile at a rhesus monkey it may interpret your show of teeth as an aggressive gesture and respond violently.”
Macaques present aggressive or threatening stances through raised eyebrows, staring, and opening the mouth to show the teeth, or having the lips protrude to form a round mouth.
Monkeys are scared of snakes. Keep real looking plastic snakes at roof tops or boundary wall of your house. Loud heavy noise, bursting of crackers or their sound track will force the monkeys to leave any premises. An injured monkey should be helped when monkey group is not close by.
"A bonobo might request [a hug], so they will seek someone out and sort of ask for help, or somebody might offer them one," Clay said. It's difficult to judge animal emotions, but the evidence points to the likelihood that hugging reassures these primates, just as it does humans, Clay said.
Monkeys, apes and other simians have nothing quite like our tears. They have tear ducts to help keep their eyes lubricated and clean. But they don't drain when they're sad. Chimps will scrunch up their faces and make noise when they're in distress, but they don't connect the tears and the wailing.
Elephants are considered to be one of the world's most empathic species. In my last blog, I wrote about how African elephants grieve and mourn their dead, proving that they're truly empathetic, social animals.
“If an orangutan is appearing to grin, this is what's known as an 'appeasement grin', meaning it's not a true smile,” Holly said. “In fact, many primate species including orangutans, will open their mouths and bare their teeth in a 'smile' as a threat or to signify they feel unsafe.”
The researchers discovered that humans and orangutans share approximately 97% of their DNA. This compares to about 99% sequence similarity between humans and chimps. The orangutan is the third nonhuman primate to have its genome sequenced, after the chimp and rhesus macaque.
Their strong arm muscles enable them to swing from tree to tree and, along with its shoulders, support the weight of their body. Although not as strong as a gorilla, an orangutan is about seven times stronger than a human.