Part I: Observation
This report aims to better understand the social organization and behavior of Propithecus coquereli. The species is more commonly referred to as Coquerel's sifaka and it is native to the island nation of Madagascar off the eastern coast of Mozambique. Like other primates, Coquerel’s sifaka is a species that adheres to an intricate, and hierarchical social structure. Between primates, however, more idiosyncratic behaviors exist that generalizations of a species offer little by way of understanding unique characteristics and social nuances. In this report, two primates named Lucy (female) and Ricky (male) are observed. Although their monikers suggest that an intimate, if not comedic dynamic exists between them, the empirical research in this study aims to depict accurately how these primates engage.
In fact, the hypothesis of this investigation posits that Ricky and Lucy will have little to no social interaction at all; a far cry from their onscreen counterparts who dominated the American sitcom in the 1950s.
The method of data collection is observation using a scan sampling method. In this method the researcher records the behavior of a group of primates or an individual at regular time intervals, of 30 seconds, one minute, or five minutes each. For this study, the researcher watch the particular community of sifakas in the following time structure: One minute followed by a two minute break, and then repeat. In total, 140 one minute instances of observing were recorded. Under each observation segment the activity of the particular primate was marked down and then repeat behaviors were aggregated and converted into percentages. The sample were two sifakas named Lucy and Ricky. Lucy, the female, was the older of the two, born in 1978. Ricky, the male, was born in 1993.
The categorization of behaviors is wide and varied. As such, three categorizations are presented which aim to consolidate the range of observations. These include general movement, resting or eating and social behavior.
General movement: For this categorization I list walking/jumping, standing, scratching and grooming. When observing Ricky and Lucy I found that, in aggregate, they walked or jumped the majority of the time. “Walking,” which I defined as scurrying along on all fours, occurred only eight out of the 93 instances of seeing walking or jumping occurring. What happened far more often was “jumping” or “leaping.” During these activities, Ricky and Lucy used their back legs to leap, and used their arms to cling onto branches, rope, etc. Of the 93 instances in which I saw Lucy and Ricky “walk” or “jump,” 85 of them (91.4%) involved one, or both, of the Sifakas' “jumping.” In total these activities occurred 66.43% of the total observation time.
Of the 140 minute instances, Ricky and Lucy stood up 10 times, and this was calculated to occur 7.14% of the time. To be clear, standing was differentiated from leaping in that it involved beginning on all fours, then standing on the two back legs, and then returning to all fours.
Two final general movements were scratching and auto-grooming. I defined “scratching” as a single scratch to the animal's body that was not followed by another, or by any grooming-like activity. Scratching occurred 8.57% of the time, a finding that is interesting for it is an activity for which Ricky and Lucy were engaged longer than standing, which seems comparatively more common. Auto-grooming, on the other hand occurred 25.71% of the time. This was defined as: a mix of scratching and other grooming techniques, performed on one's self that lasts for more than five seconds.
In the context of general movement, it should be noted, no interactions were observed between Ricky and Lucy. Resting or eating: For this categorization I list sitting and sleeping. Sitting occurred 96.43% of the time, an activity that is self-explanatory and a frequency that is not too surprising. Only 5 out of 140 instances of watching Ricky and Lucy did both Sifakas move at the same time. The vast majority of the time one would be still while the other moved, or both would be still. Sleeping occurred 7.86% of the time. This low number might be explained because I was often present during feeding time, which occurred 35% of the time. On that note, it should also be noted that I never saw either Sifaka lie down. They may have been more active than they would have been, later in the day.
Social behavior: For this categorization I list vocalizing, being groomed, chasing, attacking, inspecting and playing. I also list a series of other behaviors that might be expected but were not observed. Vocalizing, which is self-explanatory occurred 21.43% of the time. Grooming occurred 5.71% of the time, far less than auto-grooming noted above. Interestingly, Ricky always groomed Lucy, in the 8 instances in which it occurred. One other example of interaction between the two primates was one instance when Ricky was chasing Lucy after she playfully hit him. It seemed as though Lucy went over to Ricky, playfully hit/pushed him, and then ran away. Ricky gave a half-hearted chase and then the game was over, and Lucy did not repeat any form of engagement. I calculated this as 0.71% of the time.
The most notable behavior was inspecting. I defined “inspecting” as “one primate watching another partake in some activity.” Very often Ricky and Lucy would watch each other bounce around the cage. It wasn't a display for the other, and they didn't take turns doing it, but rather it seemed to be more about general curiosity. This occurred 41.43% of the time.
Part II: Interpretation
This report began with the hypothesis that two Coquerel's sifakas, named Ricky and Lucy, would have little to no social interaction at all as co-habitants within the same sifaka community. In a black or white context, the hypothesis was proven to be false; on two occasions, Ricky and Lucy had interactions, albeit brief, or fleeting. Taking a more grey approach and one may side with the conclusion that the hypothesis was largely accurate. Only on two occasions were the primates in contact; the instance when Ricky was grooming Lucy, and the instance when Ricky momentarily gave chase to Lucy, after she playfully hit him. What does this say about the nature of Coquerel’s sifakas? Very little to be honest. However, the fact that there were interactions between two primates who were different in age, and the fact that Lucy was far older than Ricky raises certain points.
