Recovery and Reunion
July 25, 2015 by Diana -
I’ve never seen a chimpanzee sleep so soundly and for so long as Burrito did after his dental procedure yesterday. He slept from mid afternoon yesterday straight through to this morning.
J.B. and I decided to leave the playroom empty so that Burrito could have a peaceful rest without the girls disturbing him, They spent the day in the greenhouse and Young’s Hill. Around 7:00 last night I opened up a couple of the front rooms for the girls for the night, leaving one empty as a buffer between him and them.
Even with the noise of operating doors, Burrito continued to sleep soundly. Burrito’s position in Front Room One meant that the girls couldn’t see him. They sure did try, though. I had taken the photo above of him sleeping, so I decided to show that to whoever wanted to take a look. Jamie stared at it for a very long time – I’ve only seen her look at photos that long when they are of herself.
Jamie seemed reassured that Burrito was okay, and made her nest up on the bench in Front Room Three, with Foxie bedding down next to her. Negra was very eager to make a nest. She chose a spot on the floor in Front Room Three and used most of the blankets that were in that room, so I handed out more. Jody made her nest on the lower bench in Front Room Four, which allowed her to see down the hallway.
When Missy and Annie went back out to the greenhouse after trying to see Burrito, I went out to see what they were up to. It turns out they had decided to camp out on the top of the structure of the greenhouse.
Here’s Missy making her nest at the top of the structure:
And here she is, all covered up and ready for sleep:
I handed out more blankets to Annie, and she made her bed next to Missy:
When I went back a few hours later, Burrito was still sleeping, and either Missy or Annie had moved into the upper bench in Front Room Four. I didn’t want to disturb sleeping chimpanzees, so I don’t know who it was, but either Annie or Missy had a nice sleep out in the greenhouse, which was probably a first for an overnight!
This morning, Burrito was much more alert – all that sleep served him well!
He was anxious to get back with the group, but we wanted him to rest up some more, which was probably good because the ladies had a fight this afternoon, so it was just as well that he stayed out of that.
As is the routine after a fight, grooming commenced. Here is Missy, Jody, and Foxie:
Burrito was back to his usual self by the late afternoon:
By the time dinner came around, everyone was insisting that they be reunited. And so they were.
In the photo below, Burrito is standing bipedally and Foxie, Negra, Jody, and Missy are all rushing to greet him.
Foxie was particularly enthusiastic with her greeting:
And here’s Mr. B doing what he loves most – eating. He’ll be on a soft food diet for a few days, so there will probably be many more baked sweet potatoes in his future:
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Thank you to all the CSNW staff and volunteers for the special care and attention that was given to Burrito during his surgery and recovery and also understanding the girls concern of his absence. Your love of them has helped them all find their way in sanctuary.
they really are a family and are concerned for each other….
What a great post. So glad Burrito is doing well and back with the family. It’s heart warming to hear you hand out more blankets for nests if needed. Thank you all!
So happy to hear the handsome Burrito is on the road to recovery. I know the ladies missed him and were concerned for his well being. I’m sure they were happy to be reunited. Thank you for taking such good care of Burrito and the ladies!
I’ve been so worried about Burrito. I can only imagine how the 6 ladies must be feeling. Sweet knowing they wanted to peek in on him to make sure he was okay. Maybe the girls fight broke out today because everyone was a little worried for him and therefore all a little on edge (or maybe it was just another day in the chimp house!). SO funny Annie or Missy camped out in the Greenhouse —maybe being a watch guard for Burrito? Hope. Love. Home. FAMILY!
Feel better each day Burrito. I wish you knew how many people are pulling for you!
What an incredible post! Thanks so much for the update on Mr. B. That the Cle Elum 7 are tight is an understatement. It was wonderful to see first hand the deep emotional bond these chimps are capable of having, true love and true family feelings. This is one of my favorite posts! Thanks for being so careful of Burrito in his recovery. When I saw him sleeping and being given so much respect after the tramatic experience of surgery, I could not help wondering how exhausted the chimps must have been after their bio-medical experiments with no care of concern from humans or from being in a captive breeding program and having a precious baby taken from them. They are all so lucky to be able to live out their lives with such a compassionate group of people to care for them and to heap them with dignity and love. Thanks so much for all that you do for all of the chimps.
This post is a relief – I was so concerned about Burrito, but he looks better than ever in those pictures. So endearing. Glad they all had a happy reunion and that he is doing well. Thank you for all of the special care you give all of the chimps.
I am wondering what the other chimpanzees will think about Burrito’s missing teeth. Will they notice? Try to inspect the empty spaces?
Apparently Jamie was pretty closely grooming his face earlier today. For the most part, they don’t seem too fixated on it at this point. And he’s not drawing attention to his mouth.
How wonderful to see everyone bedding down for the night in different places. I’m glad they got to see a picture of Burrito. And what a wonderful reunion. I bet Foxie was so happy to be reunited with Mr. B. Thank you for sharing the pictures and dialogue.
Thank you, everyone, on behalf of Burrito, for the support and caring!!