Hairless Chimpanzee Gets Thorough Dental Check From Friend

Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives, sharing more than 98 percent of our genetic blueprint. Humans and chimps are also thought to share a common ancestor who lived some four to eight million years ago. Although they normally walk on all fours (knuckle-walking), chimpanzees can stand and walk upright. By swinging from branch to branch they can also move quite efficiently in the trees, where they do most of their eating. Chimpanzees usually sleep in the trees as well, employing nests of leaves.

In this video, Jambo the hairless chimpanzee is getting a thorough dental check by his mate. She is really trying to get all the little bits out of his teeth poking and prodding, while Jambo holds very still and lets her get on with the job. Because nothing looks better than cleaned, shiny teeth, even for chimps. Of course chimps care about the monkey business thing, especially if there is somebody around them to watch what they do and be left in awe. Apes will never cease to surprise us with their incredibly clownish behavior. And they thoroughly enjoy the role of being a jesters on the “court” called a zoo.

Jambo’s friend makes sure to give him a detailed dental check-up by using her hands as a dental floss and a toothbrush in order to be able to pluck out every tiny little piece of leftover food that got stuck between his teeth. She also wants to make sure that all parts of the hard and soft palate are being equally flossed. And just look how Jambo follows suite. Neither once does he complain or jerks his head in displeasure. We know that primates love when somebody pats and taps their bodies and they can go on reaping the full benefits of that for hours and hours. So, when Jambo’s mate meticulously finishes cleaning the soft palate, she doesn’t forget to go on cleaning the hard one.

Chimpanzees are lively animals with more extroverted dispositions than either gorillas or orangutans. They are highly social and live in loose and flexible groups known as communities, or unit groups. Social dominance exists, with adult males being dominant over adult females and adolescent males. Within a community, there are twice or three times as many adult females as adult males. The dominant (alpha) male of a group can monopolize ovulating females through possessive behavior. On the other hand, gang attack by subordinate males can expel an alpha male.