Titan is much like his aggressive father Frodo. (Photo: Anna Mosser/JGI)

I've had two interesting encounters with the up and coming male, Titan, who is known for his
outlandish behavior.

The first was in June, as I was heading back to camp to finish up some office work. I was coming along the main path by Kakombe stream and I could hear some commotion ahead, both chimpanzee and baboon calls.

I wanted to see what was happening, but another part of me said I should avoid the scene since I was alone (which I am usually not).

But the group was hard to avoid, being right off the main path down in the stream bed. And I was curious. As best I could tell, the chimpanzees had been harassing, possibly hunting, the baboons, and they were all was worked up.

Then, before I knew it, a large male chimp was striding quite purposefully in my direction. I moved off, but he kept on. The vegetation beside the path was thick, so all I could do was scramble down the stream bank, losing my wristwatch in the process. When I looked up, Titan was still fixed on me, and I believe I said, "Stop following me!" That actually seemed to work, so, after grabbing my watch (it's a hot commodity around here) I was able to move off and Titan didn't follow. I'd been told to stand my ground and grab a tree when a chimpanzee does this, but it was my first such experience and staying put was not my first reaction! 

The second encounter was just the other day. We were out with a large group and the males were in quite the state, with at least five females in the group in estrus. They were busy displaying to each other, making all sorts of noise. Once again, Titan decided to see if he could intimidate me – and well, honestly, he still does. 

He walked towards me, and I moved away. He kept coming, and then Mazogo (one of the field assistants) helped to back him off. Titan continued to watch me, much to our amusement! In his eyes I'm still a newcomer, possibly someone to get a reaction out of. This time around, though, I could see that Titan's actions were a bluff. With time I think I will learn to stand my ground.

Titan is now 14 years old and is the son of Patti and Frodo. Frodo was well known for his aggressive behavior, so it's hard not to see the resemblance in Titan. Like Frodo, Titan enjoys throwing rocks and has good aim.

Dr. Martha Tappen, in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota, studies stone tool use in early humans, and when she heard about Titan's use of rocks, she asked "What was the size of the rock? What was its shape? How far away was he and how far did he throw it? Overhand or underhand?" These are great questions, but quite honestly the last things you are thinking about when a chimp is throwing a rock in your direction! 

Maybe someday I'll pause to consider this, or better yet, capture it on video.

Titan has not yet ascended to alpha status. It will be interesting to see how he behaves in the future…