Yesterday was our second round of introductions at the sanctuary. Negra and Jamie were introduced to Honey B, Willy B and Mave (who have been living with Missy, Annie and Jody since last week). Just like all intros, this one was stressful for both the humans on the sidelines and the chimpanzees in the thick of things. Fortunately, we continue to see progress, as friendships are starting to develop between the Cle Elum 7 and the new 3 from California. We are currently up to 8 individuals in 1 group, with Foxie and Burrito waiting patiently together in the Phase 1 expansion for their turn to integrate into the larger group.
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Could Mave be any sweeter? What a wonderful, peaceful being she seems to be. You and the other 9 chimps are so lucky to have her in your company. She deserves a few extra pomegranates for her peacekeeping activities. Can’t wait to finally see all 10 together and get on to getting to know them all in the new group context.
Totally agree with you Marcie! 🙂
MARCIA! Sorry.
Haha, not to worry!
Wow, Mave is my hero.
I vote Mave for president !
We could use a real diplomate like her right now 🙂
I second her nomination! Mave in 2019!
It is fascinating to read and watch all that you have shared in this process of bringing the two groups together! Checking on the chimps and the whole CSNW community is an enlightening and uplifting daily experience for me. Thank you and congratulations to all.
I’m guessing Mave is a Libra. She’s a natural diplomat and peacekeeper. I’m happy it’s so far so good! Kudos to all the exhausted staff that have worked tirelessly for months to make this happen.
Or perhaps a Cancer, warm hearted, family loving types that they tend to be. Do we know her birthday Anna?
We celebrate it May 27th but we don’t really know. She was born in 1989.
Mave is just working on becoming top chimp.The silence was more scary than the screaming! I’m with Negra when stressed eat!
Which begs the question….in melding two groups, does dominant male have any say in who is dominant female? Because then Mave wins hands down. But even without that, they said she’s just more confident than Jamie…
Heck, we’ve bern calling Jamie “the Boss” for so long, it’s gonna be hard to change. Maybe for her, too,? Or maybe she won’t care?
Lol, Jody seems to have missed her
Oh….Jamie is still boss, you wait and see, I think that’s one of the reasons that Jodie and Mave are at her beck and call, trying to calm the “boss” down.
They might have more trouble convincing the other smarty pants Honey B of it though
All alphas rely on support from other chimps – they can’t do it alone. In the wild, males and females tend to have separate hierarchies, but captivity is obviously very different. I think Mave is key right now to establishing Willy B’s dominance.
We also wondered how Jamie would react to a strong male joining her family. So far she seems very smitten and willing to let him take charge (our guess was that she just never respected Burrito). Smart chimps like Jamie and Honey B will always get their way, even if they “let” someone else be in charge.
Interesting, JB, thanks!
Lol, can’t blame her….as lovable as he can be at moments, Burrito doesn’t necessarily command respect….I mean, if there’s a snake in the room, and you want a hug or a kiss, he’s your guy. But get rid of that snake?! Nope, nope, nope. So, when there’s a snake around, who ya gonna call? Jamie, Foxie, and the troll doll…….
Everybody say it with me! “Mave! Mave! Mave!”
And Neggie seems nonplussed: “hey, I’m just here for the lettuce”. I can’t believe we thought she’d have trouble!
Are Fox and Burrito really waiting *patiently*, Anna? 😉
Have you pretty much just left Foxie til the end so that Bubba would have company?
How Maveulous and Mavenificent an introduction! Plus, an indoor forage of lettuce and pomegranates! I am glad that Negra is back with her friends, and that Jamie and Willy B (thus far) get along with each other.
And God bless your favorite den mother, Jo! With all the times Jamie’s stolen or tried to steal her food, Jo was still right by her side or, um, had her back in every shot! Once again, their amazing capacity for forgiveness impresses me.
When I saw Mave in action grooming Negra& bringing the others together, a tear rolled down my face.We all need a Mave as our friend.Blessed be the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.Welcome to the Family, Mave.I love all these kids!
May the zen Mave moves continue! There’s no denying Mave is special, I predict other peacekeepers will shine as well! Keep up the good work humans.
I love Mave too. No more than the others but I am so happy they are getting along. I will keep my fingers crossed for continued peace
So it appears, and it’s no big surprise, that if you give Negra a lettuce forage all is good with the world. May I ask how she felt about the gang once all the lettuce was gone or should I assume that once the lettuce was devoured Negra went to snug under a pile of blankets and left the excitement to everyone else. : ). I confess, I heaved a big sigh seeing her looking so Everyday Neggie.
Mave is a wonder. She is either the coolest chimp around or perhaps she is the smartest because she figured out right away that Jamie IS the Boss and Negra IS the Queen and she knew it was best to comfort and care for both. ; )
I will confess that my stomach ached seeing dear Jamie needing the reassurance. Not being a ‘chimps chimp’ (as you have noted) I can’t help but wonder what Jamie is thinking. While we all know these 10 could form the most lovely friendships/family with each other, this is not something they initially understand (exception here being Mave!). Change can be scary. I am quite proud of each and every one of them.
“Ditto!” what you said, Kathleen.
For 11 years, Jamie has shouldered the responsibility of being Boss, and that has taken up most of her time. Maybe now she can relax and write her memoirs. 🙂
Wow so happy the second meeting was successful. Maybe Jaime has found her kindred spirit in Mave? The new and extended relationships have to be so special for the Chimps and all of us supporting these wonderful creatures. Thank you to all the staff for all their hard work everyday.
So impressed with Mave so far. She knows when one of the chimps need comfort and makes sure she is there to give it. What a sweet and empathetic girl! I just love her.
Hmm. Maybe Sweet Mave was the social director on a cruise ship in a previous life!
I love seeing all the chimps interactions with each other but I am missing seeing Burrito. He is the bomb. I am having burrito withdrawal. Hopefully we will soon see him. Thanks for all you all do
I know I’ve been out of the loop for a while so I have a few questions. Is Jamie still the alpha female? I understand why Burrito will be last to be introduced but why is Foxie the last female to be introduced to the group? Will Burrito be introduced to the whole group at the same time and I can only imagine the pandemonium that will break out with his introduction to the new group. I wonder if he will go for Willy B. or just no one in particular when the door is opened for his entrance? At least, they have a lot of room to get out of the way. Very exciting!