The Adolescent Chimpanzee

Jane Goodall, in Chapter 14 of her book In the Shadow of Man, examines the adolescent chimpanzee. Goodall compares adolescence in chimpanzees to adolescence in human beings, calling it "a difficult and frustrating time" for both species (Goodall 173).

Goodall deals separately with the male and female adolescent chimpanzee, beginning with the male. What is most striking is that Goodall, in covering the male, focuses on his evolving relationship with other males, while for the female the emphasis of the author is on her sexual maturation process.

Puberty is achieved earlier in chimpanzees than in humans, at about eight years of age. The adolescent at onset of puberty is less than half of what will be his full adult size. The adolescent at onset of puberty will not be able to father offspring for another four to five years.

The mother and adolescent sons are often together, with the sons deferring out of respect to their mother, as when offered food by Goodall. The mother is protective of her son, even up to the age of sixteen, although when attacked by a grown male and "high-ranking male there is little the mother can do" (Goodall 174).

As the male grows older, the mother shows fear and respect which she did not show him at an earlier age, in part simply because of the increased size of the growing adolescent. Another important change is that as the male grows older, he becomes protective of the mother, reversing their earlier roles.

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male, the female is close to her mother, but as she ages this relationship can grow strained. Unlike with the male, the female is "fascinated" by "infants" (Goodall 180). Goodall reports that although adult males show no sexual interest in the young female adolescent, male infants do try to mount them. At about the age of ten, the females enter sexual maturity and draw the interest of adult males, who court her with increasing aggressiveness. She typically shows fear but finally submits: "After the sexual act she rushed away, still screaming. Her fright and bewilderment on that first day were only too obvious. By the second day she had calmed down somewhat" (Goodall 181). Goodall reports on the behavior of one young female whom the author says was "probably the chimpanzee equivalent of a nymphomaniac" (Goodall 181). However, in all other cases fear and screaming flight rather than unbridled desire marked adolescent female behavior at the onset of mating. The final fact related to the female adolescent as she moves into adulthood is that, although there is ample mating which takes place during each period in which the sexual organs turn pink, no female becomes pregnant until "at least two years after her first adult swelling" (G

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