The Callicam
Observation Exercise #1
This exercise should take you 10 minutes of observation time plus recording
time. Identify a juvenile and one adult. A juvenile is a primate that has passed
out of infancy, but is not yet sexually mature, and is often still partially
dependent on one or both parents. Their fur and their playful behavior can
distinguish them. For a period of five minutes, observe the juvenile
continuously, noting the number of occurrences of the three predetermined
behaviors. You pick the three behaviors and use the sheet provided to record
your observations. Three behaviors you could use are play, grooming and rest.
After five minutes, switch to using your chosen adult as the focal animal, and
record its behavior in the same way. Using your data, try to answer the
following questions:
- What are the main differences between juvenile and adult behavior?
- What makes us call some behavior "play"?
EXAMPLE CHART
| Animal number |
Play |
Rest |
Grooming |
| cj0409 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
| cj0466 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
| cj0752 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
YOUR CHART
Text and design by Lissa Pabst.
