A Break in the Action
October 13, 2019 by Anthony -
Nothing exciting or noteworthy happened today.
That’s an exaggeration. We do, after all, have to manage a newly integrated group of chimpanzees and even the most stable groups of chimps have their drama.
Compared to the last few days, however, today was quite calm. There were some short bouts of screaming and slapping and lots of pant-grunts, but the arguments weren’t as loud and didn’t last as long. Honey B tried to extend one of the arguments by spitting water in Jamie’s face, but Mave acted as the referee long enough for Willy B to scatter everyone with a charge and a display. This situation, along with all the other conflicts, deescalated quickly. I don’t know if this stabilization marks a shift towards acceptance or if it is merely an aberration. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the chimps return to a more boisterous and confrontational state tomorrow.
Either way, today felt like a break and I’m taking what I can get.
Here are some photographs from today, along with a few from the past week. I hope that you all enjoy them.
Jamie grooms Mave this morning.
Honey B takes to the railing while playing with Negra this morning.
Jamie and Willy keep an eye on the Greenhouse today.
Jody pant-grunts at Willy B as he walks by.
Mave gently touches and grooms Jody.
Mave reassures Willy B during last week’s integration event.
Missy watches breakfast from her perch in the Greenhouse this morning.
Nutmeg
Meredith
Betsy
Honey
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So glad today was calmer for you all. I can’t imagine the stress level of integrating the chimps. Is burrito doing ok. I worry about him being away from his friends. Burrito is my boy. I love seeing him and watching him eat.
Burrito is doing well, although we are excited to introduce him and Foxie into the combined group soon enough. In the meantime, the two have each other’s company and an abundance of enrichment to keep them occupied.
Thank you for the wonderful pic’s.
Its good to see those beautiful cows too 🙂
That picture of Jamie and Willy B together is my Fav.
Just how much bigger is Willy B than the others ?
Maybe it’s just that angle, but he looks a lot bigger than Jamie.
You took the words right out of my mouth, CeeCee! He looks immense there! Man, a guy can just waltz in and take over, and all ’cause he’s big!
Though we have to take into account that she’s seated and he’s got a lot more hair than she has. Oh, the benefits of spending only 5 yrs in the lab cages vs 20!
Willy B is definitely in great physical shape and is larger than the others, although his weight is about average for a healthy adult male chimpanzee. He looks large compared to the petite females, and he will also make Burrito look relatively small.
Also, as a side note, size is a relatively small factor when chimps decide who gets to be the most dominant. Having the right friends, being politically savvy, and performing well-timed and explosive displays are equally important.
Lol, like not at breakfast, when everyone is still half asleep!? 🙂
Maybe that’s the best time!
All your followers are very anxious to hear about Foxie & Burrito. Why have they been separated and when will be reunited with the group?
Hi Bill… maybe search the blogs and you will find all the details. But essentially the integration is being done in steps, carefully for the well being of all the chimpanzees. When the staff at CSNW, with their knowledge and observations of all the personalities feel the time is right Burrito and Foxie will be integrated.
where do they “chimps” go to the bathroom, do they use an outhouse type thing ?
The chimps go wherever they please. It seems like they generally relieve themselves while sitting high up so that the feces/urine goes onto the floor or in the gutter that leads to the drain. In the wild, they would constantly be on the move and wouldn’t pay much attention to where their poop goes.
They originally toyed with the idea of including Foxie in the intro group, but decided against it because she’s reactive (“which is a polite way of saying that she screams a lot”). Also, she and Burrito tend to be closer, so he would need some company while separated. They’re giving Willy B a chance to get firmly ensconced as dominant male before letting Burrito back in.
Good question, Bill!
From our perspective as staff members, the least stressful and most effective way to integrate the groups was to start with individuals who would forge relationships quickly (e.g., Jody) and mitigate everyone else’s anxiety. For Foxie and Burrito, who are often reactive and have anxious personalities, we thought it would be better to wait. So far, everything has been quite fluid and we are optimistic about putting them in with the others soon. In the meantime, we are provisioning them with lots of enrichment and they have each other to hang out with.
What a nice respite.. even if a temporary one… there will be more like this! The perspective of the photo of Willy B and Jamie was very interesting.. He does seem to be quite a lot bigger than Jamie.. and I expect all of the others… And we cannot say it enough.. Mave is just… well, “Mave”… I am tempted to turn “Mave” into an adjective and a verb…. her role in this adventure is incredible. Sleep well Ya’ll!
“Mave maved so mavely today. It was amavezing.” I would support that.
Glad to hear that today was relatively uneventful. Sounds promising. I am surprised to hear that Honey B spit water at Jamie! They usually spit water at us humans lol.
Mave seems to be a sweet girl who doesn’t care for drama in the chimp house. She senses who is upset and comforts them. I am not surprised at her actions toward Jamie after Willie B spit in her face. I am surprised that Jamie didn’t retaliate against him in some way. I am pleased with the progress they are making in learning each other and the potential friendships developing. After volunteering at a sanctuary many years ago I can’t imagine the stress you all feel when the chimps are fighting. I witnessed many disagreements over the weeks I was in South Africa and learned very quickly that chimpanzees ARE tough and resolve their spats with little human intervention. Even great friends can forgive each other. It’s a fascinating experience to watch . I wish you all less stress and worry over the next weeks as you care for these wonderful creatures.
Theresa, may I ask where you volunteered? (planning my retirement travels)
I was just thinking about the beautiful bovines yesterday and wondering what they were thinking about all new ruckus. And I was also curious what the 3 new chimps thought of the four-legged family on the other side of the fence.
Happy the humans had a day to finally Exhale. Hope the not- as-wild-and-crazy continues.
And like others posted, I am amazed at how tiny my gal Jamie looks next to Willy B. Foxie will look like a peanut next to him! I remember when I first met The Seven (after winning a visit in the Summer Biddin’ auction!) I was amazed at how small they were, Diana said the seven are small overall but in this photo I better understand the comparison in size. Is Willy B an ‘average size’ for a chimpanzee or oh he slightly larger?
The three new chimps have not gotten a good look at the cattle, but we suppose they saw all sorts of four-legged creatures from afar at their previous home. The cattle only seem to notice the chimps when they’re patrolling the boundary of Young’s Hill, and even then their reaction is not very dramatic.
I don’t know if this has been addressed in other blog posts – if so, I am sorry – but I was wondering how Honey B and Missy are doing. Do they recognize one another? Is there any evidence of a parent/child bond being felt by either of them? Thank you for all the wonderful footage and blog posts keeping us updated!
Hi Juliette! That’s a good question, and a common one. We have no reason to believe that Missy would recognize Honey B since the two would have been separated within their first couple of days together, thirty years ago. Everything about Honey B, from her physical appearance to her personality and microbiome, hadn’t developed yet. Missy has probably changed quite a bit, too.
With that being said, even if the two did recognize each other or have some sort of special mother-daughter bond, we would have no idea what that looks like. Chimp mothers may be friendly with their adult daughters, but there isn’t any specific pattern of behavior that would set that relationship apart from any other. In the wild, female chimps usually transfer to a new community late in adolescence and most likely never see their mothers again, but i’m sure there are exceptions!
Thank you, Anthony, for providing a pictoral update on the beautiful bovines. I am curious to know what Mave and co. will think of them when they begin their exploration of Young’s Hill. From the photographs, it appears that Betsy, Meredith, Nutmeg and the other Honey B (for Bovine) have aptly earned their board and keep by fire-wising the grasses on the property.
“Jody pant-grunts at Willy B as he walks by”, a caption reads. Hmm? I wonder what that might mean?…
Hey, Tobin! Regarding the cows, we love them but they can be high maintenance once the grass stops growing and we have to supplement them with hay. They now moo at us whenever we walk near the barn. Still, they earn their keep and we’re glad they’re all here.
As for the pant-grunt comment, I shared some of my thoughts on that topic in a blog post from last weekend. I’d recommend checking it out if you missed it. Jo, by the way, has the best and most theatrical pant-grunts. Sometimes she tries so hard to sell it that she even buries her face in Willy’s side.