# Questions regarding chimpanzees **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 30, 2016, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-regarding-chimpanzees/767260 "2016-09-30T01:40:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2016, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-regarding-chimpanzees/767260/1 "2016-09-30T01:40:21Z")
Hi, Other than animal rights websites, I haven’t found any other websites or books advancing any of the following arguments, in particular 1. that smiling causes them pain 2. that they perform elaborate “rain dances” during downpours.". These arguments made me rather suspicious. I look forward to your feedback. > **[This is why PETA’s latest campaign may backfire](https://nypost.com/2016/09/29/stop-putting-smiling-chimps-on-greeting-cards-peta/)** > > You’ll excuse the folks at PETA on Friday if they’re just a little embarrassed. The animal-rights group on Thursday launched a major offensive against Hallmark to get the greeting card company to s… “That’s right. It pains the chimps to smile, PETA said.” > **[Why Is This Chimp Smiling?](http://www.all-creatures.org/articles/ar-chimp-01.html)** > > Why Is This Chimp Smiling? “We started to understand them, too. Through Jane Goodall’s observations in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania in the ’60s and ’70s, we discovered chimpanzees’ profound intelligence, that they make and use tools (such as twigs to extract termites from holes), mourn the loss of dead offspring, and perform elaborate “rain dances” during downpours.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2016, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-regarding-chimpanzees/767260/2 "2016-09-30T01:58:40Z")
> [@davidmich](#): > > 1. that smiling causes them pain That’s nonsense. The chimp expression with bared teeth that we interpret as a smile isn’t really one (although it may be related), but I don’t think there’s any reason to think it causes them pain. From [here:](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2555422/) > [@](#): > > However, the meaning of the bared-teeth display is quite different when used by species with more egalitarian social systems, including some macaques, mandrills, Gelada baboons and chimpanzees (van Hooff, 1967; Preuschoft and van Hooff, 1997). In these species, the bared-teeth display is more appeasing and functions to increase social attraction and affiliation. It communicates benign intent in that the signaler wishes no harm, and that there is no risk of aggression (van Hooff, 1967; van Hooff, 1976; Waller and Dunbar, 2005). It can also occur during affiliative contexts, such as grooming, sexual solicitation and reconciliations, and thus functions to increase affiliative tendencies and reduce proximity between individuals (van Hooff, 1973; Preuschoft and van Hooff, 1997; Parr et al., 2005; Waller and Dunbar, 2005). > [@](#): > > 1. that they perform elaborate “rain dances” during downpours.". This is correct. [Here.](http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2015/02/03/watch-wonder-chimp-rain-dance/) [Here.](http://www.janegoodall.org.uk/chimpanzees/chimpanzee-central/15-chimpanzees/chimpanzee-central/24-waterfall-displays) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2016, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-regarding-chimpanzees/767260/3 "2016-09-30T02:31:32Z")
If someone ever tried to teach a chimp to smile a human-like smile, and the chimp resisted, that could have started the rumor. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-regarding-chimpanzees/767260/4 "2016-09-30T02:32:14Z")
What they seem to be doing is taking something out of context from the Jane Goodall Institute and manipulating it to suit their purposes. Her argument is that chimps shouldn’t be used in advertising and entertainment for a bunch of reasons; being separated from their mothers at early ages, being trained by showbiz animal trainers who often resort to cruelty, being forced to “smile” on command, etc. The argument is not only is it not good for the performing chimps for obvious reasons but it encourages people to make them pets or otherwise diminish the importance of conserving them and their habitats. And as one small side note in that big picture argument, she says: > [@](#): > > Does using chimpanzees in entertainment and advertising help people to appreciate them more? > > No. The use of chimpanzees for advertising creates terribly wrong perceptions of these amazing creatures. Do you realize that the chimpanzee’s smile so often seen on TV is actually a grin of fear? These trained performers suffer greatly for our amusement. > **[Forever Wild](https://janegoodall.ca/take-action/forever-wild/)** > > A global campaign to end illegal wildlife trafficking in our lifetime. PETA is twisting that message into a short sound byte. The “suffering and pain” is with regard to the overall process of making the chimps smile for the camera not the smile itself. Over the years PETA has lost almost all credibility, at least with me and many animal organizations I know, as an animal rights advocate, but Jane Goodall can generally be trusted to give you the straight dope on chimps. ---
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2016, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-regarding-chimpanzees/767260/5 "2016-10-01T12:34:46Z")
Thank you all. Very helpful.