Chimpanzee mother’s engage in playful interactions with their offspring during challenging circumstances

When they have less to eat, most chimpanzees stop playing altogether to conserve energy, but mothers continue to spend a lot of time playing with their children. Because play is essential to the physical and psychological development of young chimpanzees, mothers may channel their energy into this behavior to nurture their young, even during difficult times.

Great apes such as gorillas, bonobos, and chimpanzees all tend to engage in play, such as tickling, pecking, and chasing each other. “Play helps develop both motor and social skills,” he says. Zarin Machanda At Tufts University, Massachusetts. “That's really what the baby needs to develop properly.”

For more than a decade, Machanda and colleagues have been observing a community of about 60 Eastern chimpanzees.Pan Troglodytes Schweinfurti) lives in Kibale National Park, Uganda. The team played a total of 3,891 games between 2010 and 2019.

“We had a great summer in 2016 or 2017 when there was nothing but food everywhere on site,” says Manchanda. “And one of the things we noticed was a lot of adult chimpanzees playing with each other.”

When food was abundant, teams recorded at least one play on 97% of observation days, but when food was scarce, this decreased to only 38%.

However, mother chimpanzees continued to play with their children at even higher rates during times of low food availability.

“We were really surprised,” team members say. Chris Sabbi Food is generally more important to female chimpanzees because the energetic cost of reproduction is much higher, according to a Harvard University study.

During periods of food stress, chimpanzees tend to spend more time alone to avoid competing for resources, so mothers are often the only social partners for their babies. As a result, the mother spends even more time playing with her children to compensate for the lack of interaction with her peers and other adults.

“The fact that mothers continue to play with their babies, even at personal sacrifices, shows how important this is to the child's development,” Machanda said. “It's like the hidden cost of being a mother.”