[Anjae]

I know we’re supposed to be serious about this but this fictional diary http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/shortcuts/2012/nov/20/diary-chimp-midlife-crisis?INTCMP=SRCH of chimp having a MLC is way, way funny. 

Diary of a chimp's midlife crisis
Researchers have discovered that, like humans, chimpanzees suffer a predictable decline in happiness halfway through their lives. This excerpt from the diary of Greg, aged 26, reveals what it's like to be a chimpanzee with a midlife crisis

Monday
Feeling restless. Had another go at typing Shakespeare. By lunchtime I felt as if I'd made a real breakthrough with the dialogue in the opening scene, but later when I checked it over I saw that it was actually just six pages of Xs and 9s. I know good work requires infinite patience, but some days I think I'm not getting anywhere at all. Am I wasting my life?

Tuesday
Looking at myself this morning, I noticed something shiny in my hair. Then I realised: it was my scalp! Why do I seem to be getting hairier everywhere but on my head? Sometimes I wish I were a dog – when they look in the mirror, they just think it's another dog. Must be nice to be that stupid.

Wednesday
Woke up, thought: today is the first day of the rest of your life. Time to start evolving. So I'm gonna give up writing Shakespeare and become an inventor. It's something I've always wanted to do. Now or never, Greg. Now or never.

Thursday
Sat on the big limb during opening hours, just staring into space. It's weird – one day I'm swinging around, showing off like a young chimp, the next day I can't even be bothered to throw faeces at people. I need a change. Perhaps I'll start wearing a hat.

Friday
Been thinking about getting my tyre swing replaced with something flashier, maybe a Ferrari tyre. Everyone says they're uncomfortable to hang from, but I don't care about that, as long as the female bonobos in the next cage can see the logo. Oh my God, who am I kidding?

Saturday
Getting very close with my latest invention. It's basically a stick – you can use it to poke into anthills, but also the ants crawl up it, and you can just lick them off. Dual-function, like the spork. Showed the prototype to Carole, and she was very dismissive; claimed she'd seen someone using something just like it in the wild. I've never even been to "the wild". Very low for the rest of the afternoon. Threw some faeces. Didn't help.

[kikki]

  Anne

Thanks for posting Tsunami.
I had read an online guardian article about it too and decided to email the scientist mentioned in the article. Wondering if he had come to any conclusions about the cause.
He very kindly responded, saying he's sorry to hear we're going through a difficult time of late because of this. I asked whether he felt the effects were due to hormonal changes and he said he imagined that some of the effects that are being witnessed could be down to hormonal changes and changes in neurotransmitters, but that they did not have the ability to test that in their study. Moreover, the study was based on males and females.

He ended by saying that if the behaviors are truly concerning and extreme, it may be worth consulting with somebody who is a professional in these matters just to make sure that nothing else is going on.

I thanked him very much for his response and said that sadly the 5 - 10 % who make these lifestyle changes that they may later regret, do not want to seek help as they are in 'running' mode. 

So agree Anne.  They were looking at Ape MLTransition.
Still, a start perhaps.

[OldPilot]

e.  So agree Anne.  They were looking at Ape MLTransition.
Still, a start perhaps.

Interesting, well why would we expect them to use the proper terms......

But it is a step in the right direction.

And do APE's have childhood issues?

[LearningIamOk]

Just finished the articles. Tsu, you should be a paid researcher with all the info you come up with.

Anne, I loved the diary.

Kikki that was very bold of you to contact the scientist. I don't think that would have occurred to me. I am sorry that he had no real help.

OP, do you think the FOO issues of apes could perhaps be tied to how far and how accurately they fling their poo?

[kikki]

   I do those sorts of things Learning. 
Thought it might plant a seed for their further research, which it sounds like they may be doing.

Also just emailed the person who looks like the media spokesperson for the study. He is an economist, but looks like he had as much to do with the study as the others.  If he is kind enough to reply, I'll let you know.

OP - I'm sure some of the apes would have childhood/developmental issues too.

[Musica]

Well done Kikki, what a great idea!

xxx

[toughtimes]

In monkey world in the uk all the monkeys have been rescued from difficult situations so the apes there would probably have childhood and FOO issues! They would be the best apes to study.

Oh goodness can't believe I just wrote that seriously!

Loved the diary in the guardian annej so funny!

Wonder if the apes are eyeing up the young hipsters in skinny jeans and v neck t's and thinking "hmmmm think I'd look good in those, I'm lean legged and hairy just like the hipsters, sure no one will notice the great big middle age ape spread hanging over the waistline!"

[honour]

Isn't the "science" of this study a little bit flimsy when: "The survey even asked the humans to imagine themselves as the animal and rate how happy they'd be."

If the Keepers were in their forties/fifties the study's findings could be a case of projection. 

[kikki]

Well, I guess they could have asked the Chimpanzees and Orangutans to rate their own happiness instead 
I guess a lot of research is flawed in some way, but it does give a general indication. 

The economist (not quite sure what his part of the research actually was) did just reply, but said to please forgive him, but he isn't qualified to answer my questions.
That is a shame, as he took part in the study in some way.
Not surprising though.

Nice of them both to respond I thought. 

[honour]

He concluded that "the mid-life crisis is real and it exists in... our closest biological relatives, suggesting that it is probably explained by biology and physiology".

Could the conclusions not be skewed by the studying of incarcerated wild animals instead of animals in their natural environment?
"The study team asked longtime caretakers of more than 500 chimpanzees and orangutans at zoos in five countries to fill out a questionnaire about the well-being of each animal they work with, including overall mood, how much the animals seemed to enjoy social interactions, and how successful they were in achieving goals (such as obtaining a desired item or spot within their enclosure)."

Have they concluded that wild animals kept in "enclosures" for a longtime, competing for scarce resources (items and spots) show signs of being unhappy?