Just a few years ago, Annie was glued to her best friend Missy’s side. Missy was Annie’s security blanket, and she followed her everywhere. Annie was afraid to be alone.
That’s not the case anymore. These days it’s not uncommon to see images like this one of Annie enjoying some solitude on Young’s Hill this morning:
She sat there for several minutes until Missy, who had been doing her own thing further up the hill, came over to say hi.
Missy sat down next to Annie and they hung out together for awhile, taking in the view.
Eventually, Missy decided to head inside to the greenhouse. Old Annie would have followed.
But new Annie is plenty confident in her own company.
Still funny to see chimps sitting among snow … Love it! I love hearing how they are all adjusting to their sanctuary. Trusting you – feeling comfortable – knowing they have choices – it’s a good thing you’re doing. Well done!
I was going to say the same thing. ????????????
same here
i loved this post…and i love annies progress…you guys that do so much for these 7 are such good people…angels, really…thanks so much for all you do for them…and sharing the blog everyday…it has enriched MY life and i thank you so much for that.
Is Annie’s new found confidence causing any problems within the group as a whole? I understand the group dynamics change on an situational basis but there must be some changes with the new Annie emerging.
The biggest differences we’ve seen are that Annie stands up for herself more during conflicts, that she occasionally swipes food from the more dominant chimps if she thinks she can get away with it, and that she’s much more confident in initiating play and grooming with the other chimps. The first two changes I listed do have the potential to cause some trouble in the group, but so far the other chimps don’t seem too threatened by Annie’s increasing boldness. She’s still safely at the bottom of the hierarchy.
Well, I’ve tried to post this twice now, and twice I’ve been blown to the ether.
So, when chimps display what could be called weaknesses, do you find that the other chimps seem to exploit those weaknesses and take advantage of them?
Good question, Carla. I think the best answer I can give you is that some chimps might, some of the time. There is as much personality variation in chimpanzees as there is in humans, so you might see that behavior in more politically-minded individuals, and not at all in others. Jamie, for instance, is always strategizing. She’s been known to start screaming for no apparent reason during meals, and then once the other chimps are worked up and running around trying to figure out what the problem is, she swiftly collects the food they dropped in their excitement. 🙂 Some chimps want very much to be in charge, and so are always paying attention to things like status and dominance, and others don’t seem at all interested. Just one more way they’re like us.
I’m curious if you all document your observations of the CE7? Sort of like field work.
We record notes on the chimps’ diet and health, but not on general behavior. Though it could be said that this blog is a daily record of our observations. 🙂
i loved this post…and i love annies progress…you guys that do so much for these 7 are such good people…angels, really…thanks so much for all you do for them…and sharing the blog everyday…it has enriched MY life and i thank you so much for that.
It’s wonderful to see how much progress the lovely Annie has made! Feeling loved and safe has given her confidence.
Inspiring! Annie reminds me of one of my favorite quotes : “And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom”. ~Anais Nin
That is the most beautiful quote. I will be passing that one on. 🙂
Wonderful pictures too – they seem to say it all.