The neighbors
February 1, 2021 by Katelyn -
Don’t let this guy’s relaxed demeanor in this photo fool you. He’s been a wild man aalll daayyy long! Willy B took a brief respite to regain his energy in this moment (and of course, do a quick check in on his “stories”), but he has been very focused on the goings on of his seven neighbors and riling things up nearly from “can’t see to can’t see”. Displaying with kicks to the doors, hooting, hollering, screaming and banging and refusing to leave anywhere he might catch a glimpse of, or a response from, them. In short, Willy B has had a whole lot to say to the seven and naturally, they’ve had a lot to say in response. He even declined breakfast because he was so busy (don’t worry, he had an extra big lunch).
As it grew darker outside, Willy B finally called it a day and decided to allow us to close the chute for the night when he saw me cracking fresh coconuts for the seven in the play room after dinner. And he was standing indoors at the ready when we brought some in to offer he, Mave and Honey B for their evening enrichment. Needless to say, I am quite sure he’s going to sleep well!
Meanwhile, our other wild man, Burrito, kept caregiver, Anthony, busy galloping back and forth across the top of Young’s Hill. I stood out there a long time trying to capture photos of the chimpanzees as they raced and climbed and explored every which way around the hill, and the entire time these two were blurs back and forth in my periphery.
It was an overcast, mild (for winter) kinda day with occasional rain – the kind of weather these chimpanzees love – and I think everyone was excited to have a relatively snow-free Young’s Hill to race around on as they all spent a considerable amount of time outside. Even Negra!
Foxie and Orange Blossom making their way back from their adventure:
Missy taking one last look around the hill as she waited for her best friend, Annie, to catch up (but she decided to race off across the hill one more time before coming inside):
Here’s Miss Honey B picking through her nightbag treat covered toes and enjoying her peanut butter magazine after dinner. (As a side note, Mave made her night nest by weaving in the leftover peanut butter magazines and is currently curled up in the middle of them which is pretty sweet. Mave is very much a no photos after bedtime, shut the lights off, and don’t let the door hit you in the tookus on your way out kinda gal, so you will have to use your imaginations. 🙂 )
But back to Honey B:
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At first I thought “nightbag treat covered toes” had to be some kind of typo because I didn’t really understand what it meant until I scrolled down to the photo and, sure enough, nightbag treat covered toes! Gave me a good laugh both at myself for doubting and at Honey B for being such a silly little miss.
Ryan, we often have to remind ourselves that not everyone may be aware of what “nightbags” are! I’m not sure if that was your thinking so apologies if not, but the chimpanzees receive “nightbags” every evening after dinner – brown paper bags which are full of what you already deducted – treats of nuts, seeds, popcorn and dried fruit. And if it was just my wonky wording, please disregard this, haha. 🙂
Honey B’s wind up on her toes. Neggie’s collect on her belly!
Before I address Willy B’s wild day I have to say one thing. Missy! I mean seriously, that little athletic build always makes me smile from ear to ear. I never tire of her little solid shape. Even without seeing her face, you can just see the spark in her eye. Love her. Now, back to Mr. Willy B. I am shocked and amazed that he was such a boisterous, noisy neighbor today. He always looks soooo perfectly perfect and innocent and handsome. If he sleeps soundly tonight he’ll be ready to do it all over again tomorrow! Question : Does he do this often or was there something in the warmer air that blew in today and brought it on. Ha ha ha!
Wonderful photos of Honey B from head to her toes. Wish we could have seen Mave. Smart girl building her snack enrichment into her nest. You never know when you might wake up hungry.
I always think of you when I have photos of Missy’s little bod, Kathleen! She’s pretty wonderful. I always say that I would love to know what it feels like to be Missy for just five minutes as she zooms around with all that grace and strength. As for Willy B, he is typically a pretty mellow guy overall! In the past, this level of focus on the seven has been largely in response to one of the girls being in estrus (Jamie, Annie, or Jody). While none of the girls are in estrus right now, we aren’t entirely sure what has spurred his interest outside of an increase in social tension and dominance displays between the groups the past few days – all part of normal chimpanzee dynamics at times.
That’s another question, Katelyn. If they can’t see each other well, and their sense of smell is as bad as ours, how does he know when the three on the other side are in estrus?
Hi Linda,
The overhead chute that leads to the outdoor habitat for Mave, Willy B and Honey B, sits directly across from the seven chimpanzees’ playroom windows so they can easily see one another from a few feet away. The three can also see the seven from the chute when the seven are on Young’s Hill (and vice versa).
So…the girl groupies go even more crazy at the windows….got it! Thanks, Katelyn!
Oh, to be Missy for five minutes is right! Too run wild with speed and precision. To climb and balance (gracefully!) on a firehouse with arms extended with a mouth full of fresh scrumptious veggies, to swing from a firehose or brachiate across a room. And then to quietly sit next to your very best BFF and relax. Yup! That’s a pretty good life.
To the commotion between the two groups…..Maybe our favorite secret Ghost Lady is visiting and all the chimps want to spend time with her so they are making extra noise and demands to win her favor. ; )
I guess sometimes that’s just how Mondays go. I’m betting Anthony’s going to sleep just as good as Willie be tonight after all the exercise he got today too.
Thank you all for the wonderful blog today and just love the pictures.
Cheers!
Orange….Blossom? 😉
Glad everyone had fun adventures. Who needs the gym when work is like this!?
Ha! I wrote that and thought, what? Good catch! I rather like Orange Marmalade though… 😉
“Pretty lady Marmalaaaade” 🙂
I’m sure she doesn’t mind!
Hmm…on Saturday it seemed like there was a lot of snow on Young’s Hill. Did Burrito eat that much over the weekend? Given its sudden absence from her land, I wait with anticipation for tomorrow morning, when Negra shall emerge from her nest of GroundApe’s Day and, with any luck, see her shadow and thus have six more weeks of winter and, I hope, snow.
What a great day they had! Treats, mischief, exercise and nighttime reading – that is a perfect day!
I loved everything I read and every picture. Much love to them!