Day 25: Figan Stomps Faben while Competing for Burlap
| Date: | July 24, 1974 |
| Start: | 07:06 (nest) |
| Finish: | 18:05 (nest) |
| Duration: | 10 hr. 59 min. |
| Observers: | Curt Busse and Cretus Chiwaga |
Curt’s Report. Figan fed on mnazi for 15 minutes before going to the Plum Tree Thicket drumming tree where he drummed twice before feeding on muguiza. Patti arrived (ASR) as Figan descended and traveled to a nearby ngazi tree where he displaced an adult male baboon before feeding.
Goblin arrived and was submissive to Figan as Figan changed ngazi trees. At 0812, Sherry attacked Passion and Athena in Camp and there was intense screaming. Figan leapt down from his tree and rushed to Camp. Figan terrorized Camp with a blazing arrival at 0820. There were many pant-grunts, pant-bobs, and screams by the group—Athena, Atlas, Hugo, Sherry, and Jomeo—upon Figan’s long arrival display. Humphrey arrived moments later. Figan displayed at Humphrey who screamed and barely avoided Figan’s display. Humphrey, Patti, Hugo, and Goblin left Camp to the east. As Sherry was leaving, Figan displayed at Sherry who screamed and avoided.
Sherry studies a caged human observer. 
Figan left Camp to the east and displayed again at Humphrey. Figan and Humphrey started grooming when Faben arrived. Faben walked past Humphrey and Figan and traveled towards Camp. There was absolutely no response by Figan or Faben to each other. Jomeo approached and groom presented to Figan (no luck). Sherry then approached bobbing and Figan displayed at him. Figan followed Faben into an empty Camp and they groomed for a few minutes before leaving Camp to the west. Figan had apparently changed his travel pattern in order to be with Faben. They fed on ngazi and muguiza in the same trees where Figan had fed earlier in the morning. Before traveling down to the muguiza tree near Camp, Faben submissively approached Figan (see ASR Details, below).
Figan and Faben fed on muguiza for 40 minutes, then as they rested on the ground there were screams and waah’s by Melissa, Fifi, Winkle, and Miff who were feeding on a burlap sack just outside the Mess (photo, below).
Faben, Miff (with burlap in mouth), and (probably) Winkle chew on a burlap sack scavenged near the Mess. Cretus Chiwaga stands in the background.
Figan and Faben immediately traveled to the Mess and did arrival displays, which sent the females scattering. Figan gained access to the burlap sack, and slowly the others approached him either to feed or beg. The group calmed down quickly, then Figan spontaneously put hair-out and stamped twice on Faben’s back. Faben crouched and screamed and the females all screamed and avoided as Figan displayed off. Figan chewed briefly on burlap, then left the sack to the others as he moved off 20 m to wait for Faben. Figan sat and rested for 1 ½ hours as Faben and the others chewed on burlap.
Faben finally finished chewing and the brothers traveled to a mumanda tree above the choo (outhouse). Figan and Faben fed on mnazi, msongati, kitota, and mumanda before nesting above the Kasakela stream at 1805.
Figan rests in his nest.
ASR Details. At 1030, Faben descended from an ngazi tree and approached Figan. Faben had hair-out as he pant-grunted with full-open-grin to Figan. Figan with hair-out started grooming Faben. This was one of the few times that Faben has apparently been “submissive” to Figan.
At 1226 Figan and Faben were resting at the muguiza tree near the Mess when there were nearby screams and waah’s from the Mess where Fifi, Melissa, Winkle, and Miff were feeding on a burlap sack. Figan and Faben both with hair-out slowly traveled towards the females who were on the ground feeding. Figan and Faben both charged bipedal branch-waving at the females who all avoided with many waah’s, screams, and pant-bobs. Faben then pant-hooted and Figan took possession of the burlap. The group then calmed down as the females and Faben slowly started to gather around Figan to feed or beg. Figan then spontaneously put his hair-out and stamped on Faben’s back twice. Faben crouched and screamed during this brief “attack.” The mother-infants all screamed and avoided. Figan charged off displaying with the burlap sack in his mouth. Figan relinquished the sack soon afterwards and waited 1 ½ hr while Faben chewed on burlap.
Parts of the Lower Kasakela Valley were incredibly dense, and following chimpanzees through the tangled undergrowth could be a real challenge. One day, we were surprised—and delighted—to discover a freshly cut trail, remarkably wide and slanted. It had been cleared by Saidi, and we affectionately came to call it the “Saidi Highway.”
Nesting Details. Figan and Faben were feeding alone on kitota near the Saidi Trail (photo, above) in Lower Kasakela when at 1759 Faben traveled down to a tree near the stream. Faben climbed 5 m up in the tree and several sets of rapid-grunts were exchanged by Figan and Faben before Faben started nest-building. At 1805 Figan crossed the stream and climbed into a tree 15 m from Faben. Figan and Faben exchanged grunts before Figan nest-built. The next morning Figan was found in a nest 4 or 5 m from Faben in Faben’s tree.
