As I arrived this morning, I found Negra and Burrito grooming on a bench in one of the Front Rooms. This is a popular morning spot since it has a view of both the driveway and the kitchen.
Despite how this looks, Burrito is not in fact a vampire. He is actually more of a Tasmanian Devil. But at this point in the day he is still a very sleepy Tasmanian Devil.
As the other staff and volunteers arrive, Negra looks toward the kitchen and greets them with a soft grunt, and Burrito follows suit.
The arrival of the volunteers means the workday has begun, and that in turn means that breakfast will soon be ready. Breakfast always puts Negra in a good mood so she begins to play.
Negra has a rough style of play. The others tolerate it because of her status, and because they all know that it is a special occasion when Negra plays. Soon she is playfully but forcefully pushing Burrito’s head against the wall.
She thinks that is a lot of fun.
Burrito thinks a bit less of this game and he eventually slips away, so Negra settles for a patented Negra move – the head-butt to the belly. Let the day begin!
Hi, Jeeb,
What exactly is Negra’s status? Jamie’s the alpha, so is she the sub-dominant female?
Hi Carla – To put it simply, we have always referred to Negra as the queen and Jamie as the prime minister.
But it’s obviously a little different than the British constitutional monarchy. In the wild, females tend to have their own dominance hierarchies, separate from the males, and they are often grouped loosely in classes rather than something resembling a linear hierarchy. In captivity, almost anything is possible, so we see dominance organized differently everywhere we look.
One of our interns, who just finished his master’s at CWU, did his thesis on this very topic. Here is the first of what will likely be many papers resulting from his research, if you are interested in the details: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0191898
J.B., why is it your posts either leave me laughing out loud or so deeply touched I find myself weepy? This post left me laughing and thank you for that, I needed this today. Oh Negra, look at that face. I do love her so much it leaves a little ache in the center of my heart when I think of her — it’s a sweet ache. But not too sure I would want to be the recipient of her head-butt to the belly. Love the look of sleepy headed Burrito in these photos. How fun to have mornings like this, thank your for sharing!
Love love love it!!!!!!!!! Thanks so much for these wonderful pix ~ hugs and love to you all….
These pictures (and the text) are simultaneously beautiful and hilarious; it appears that the Queen has a certain way of dealing with her Court Jester. I wonder; do you ever show your photographs or videos of the chimps to them? if so, what are their reactions?
Hi Tobin – Yes, we do show them the photos from time to time. Jamie seems to be the only one interested in them (and only when they are of her!).