Nothing makes me happier than when I go out to see what the chimpanzees are up to and they are happily engaged in their own activities, sometimes gracing me with a cursory glance or friendly head nod, then getting back to what they were doing. This happiness is tenfold when it’s Jamie who is hanging out with the other chimpanzees and simply doesn’t want or need my attention.
I’m not going to lie, it is pretty fantastic to be greeted enthusiastically by a chimpanzee. I’m a (mostly) social primate too, and it feels good when someone is happy to see me and wants to spend time with me. However, part of our job at the sanctuary is to create an environment where the humans are available but not essential to the social lives of the chimpanzees in our care.
J.B. explained in this blog post at the beginning of the year that Jamie is often not involved in grooming parties with the other chimpanzees because she tends to exist on the fringes of the chimpanzees social group, often preferring to receive attention from the humans. This makes a lot of sense – she spent the first nine years of her life very likely thinking she was a human, then she was put into biomedical research for a couple of decades before coming to the sanctuary. To say that her relationship with humans is complicated is an understatement.
We do grant her the time that she desires with the humans. We want to provide all of the chimpanzees with the things and experiences that make them feel secure, content, and joyful, and that’s different for each of them. We respect who they are as chimpanzees, however, and we limit the contact that we have with them. Even their best human friends are never with them without steel caging, chimp-proof glass, or electric fence between us (aside from medical procedures when they are fully sedated). This is for our safety. And it’s also to let them have their own space where they can be chimpanzees.
The humans are just a part of their lives. We come and we go. Their most important social relationships are with one another.
So, you can imagine my happiness when I came upon a grooming session between Jamie and Foxie today and they ignored me.
They can be physical with each other in ways that the humans cannot, and that’s the way it should be. They don’t need us for this. They need each other.
Always amazing to see Jamie as the groomer and not the groomed.
Foxie Box #1 set to arrive tomorrow! (I think it’s the international Dora set)
Thanks, Linda!
You’re welcome!
Very touching….
A beautiful post. When I think of Jamie living with humans for the first nine years of her life and then abruptly finding herself in a cold, isolated biomedical laboratory I can not even begin to phantom the confusion and distress she must have experienced. It is simply heartrending to think about. While I honestly enjoy her interactions, communications, and activities with all of you, seeing these photos of Jamie grooming Foxie makes my heart burst. Yes, Jamie needs her chimp family, maybe more than she knows. Always blows me away how the chimps have changed, reaching beyond their comfort zones and beyond their fears. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t be that resilient.
This post is so touching and true. They NEED each other. I can’t help when I look at these beautiful beings, what they have all been through. The injustice, the isolation and the cruelty. BUT, I also look at them now, and admire them greatly. To forgive and move on. We can never know what they are truly thinking to themselves in the quiet moments about they past.
Sorry for typo. Meant to read “their” past. I love and respect them so much. Thank you to the great staff who take such excellent care of these beautiful people.
This exactly – Jamie needs her chimp family, maybe more than she knows. Thank you, Kathleen. I know I wouldn’t be as resilient as they are.
What a beautiful post, Diana! Jamie seems so focused, yet relaxed in her chimp world. Is this grooming session a first for her at the sanctuary? She looked like she “belonged”. It was great to see.
It’s not a first, but it’s not commonplace either. I do think Jamie has been seen grooming with the other chimpanzees more in the last couple of years. Jody came out during this time and Jamie turned to groom her too.
I guess it’s a good idea to keep your #2 happy!
What a beautiful and inspirational post Diana. Thank you for taking us into the lives of these insanely magnificent beings.
I am blessed everyday by watching the interactions between chimps and staff. The love and respect given to these precious primates makes my heart swell in pride that as a society we are not totally lost. The treatment of these chimps for years of their lives in biomedical research makes me angry. How do you treat anyone like that. God bless you all at chimpsnw. I admire you all so much thank you for loving these babies and giving them s place to live in peace and quiet.