Nothing exciting or noteworthy happened today.
That’s an exaggeration. We do, after all, have to manage a newly integrated group of chimpanzees and even the most stable groups of chimps have their drama.
Compared to the last few days, however, today was quite calm. There were some short bouts of screaming and slapping and lots of pant-grunts, but the arguments weren’t as loud and didn’t last as long. Honey B tried to extend one of the arguments by spitting water in Jamie’s face, but Mave acted as the referee long enough for Willy B to scatter everyone with a charge and a display. This situation, along with all the other conflicts, deescalated quickly. I don’t know if this stabilization marks a shift towards acceptance or if it is merely an aberration. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the chimps return to a more boisterous and confrontational state tomorrow.
Either way, today felt like a break and I’m taking what I can get.
Here are some photographs from today, along with a few from the past week. I hope that you all enjoy them.
