The chimpanzees began their morning with a raucous exchange of displays between the two neighboring groups. Screams, barks, drumming and hoots reverberated throughout the Chimp House. The neighbor effect is very real.
The following breakfast services were predictably tense. On one side of the building, Jamie was irate that the poor human caregiver wouldn’t give her someone else’s chow bag. The white paper bag sat awkwardly in the bottom of the food chute as Jamie loudly won the ensuing argument, but Negra quietly absconded with the prize during the chaos. In the Mezzanine, Willy B flexed his dominance by intimidating the female chimps and claiming Mave’s chow bags. Willy has grown more patient and tolerant in his time here, possibly due to our efforts to promote cooperative feeding. However, like all high-ranking chimps, he still needs to assert himself occasionally. This morning was one of those moments.
Generally speaking, chimpanzee behavior is characterized by short chaotic episodes during which the social hierarchy is challenged. These conflicts can either reform existing relationship dynamics or reinforce them. Instability and tension, however, are not just unpleasant; they’re downright exhausting. Adrenaline is unsustainable and requires a long reset afterwards. For this and many other reasons, chimps spend most of their time engaged in relatively peaceful activities such as grooming, foraging, and rest. I don’t know if chimpanzees have a “love language,” but low-key quality time would probably be it.
Given today’s hectic beginning, it was not surprising that the sanctuary’s residents had calmed down by lunch. The Seven were all about doing laps around Young’s Hill, while Honey B and Mave spent a large chunk of the day grooming and playing chase. Once our team was finished scrubbing enclosures for the day, I took a moment to go sit just outside the caging in the Mezzanine and observe the chimps. Willy B was the only chimp up there, lazily turning over some blankets and toys that had just been distributed by caregivers.
Willy B stared at me for a second, made a gentle hoo, and retrieved a fluffy blue blanket that had been draped over the nearby bench. He dragged it towards me with his knuckles, stopping only when the edges of the blanket were pushed up against the bottom of the steel mesh that separated us. Willy then leaned forward and, like a collapsing Imperial AT-AT, took a gargantuan nose dive into the shaggy pile.
He laid there for some time, face buried in the folds of the blanket. It was difficult to tell if it was a moment of pure exhaustion or zen-like bliss. I followed suit, sprawling out on the smooth heated floor. He lifted his head to reveal his brown eyes, which briefly showed a flash of skepticism, before apparently deciding that it was okay for me to join him on the floor. As I laid on my back, looking up at the passing clouds through the Mezzanine’s skylights, Willy began to take longer and longer blinks until he slowly fell asleep.
Even though I’m used to the routine by now, I noted how odd it felt to see Willy B gradually drift off into a light nap. He seemed to be at ease amid his surroundings despite being a hurricane of hair and muscle just hours earlier. I also felt slightly honored that he had chosen to be in my proximity without asking for anything else. I reminded myself that the never-ending waves of chimpanzee emotion, with peaks of chaos and troughs of serenity, are not something to be necessarily battled against. Rather, they are all part of the chimpanzee experience, adding value to each other. As Anna once told me when I was learning to manage the complex dynamics among these unique chimp individuals, “you’ve gotta ride the waves.”
I decided not to take any photos of Willy B’s nap; doing so would have likely caused him to sit up and stare into the camera lens. Instead, here are some photos our team has taken of chimpanzees resting during the peaceful eyes that separate many tumultuous storms.
 
 
 
 
Have a great night, everyone!
What a touching exchange between you and Willy B.. some things are best left as a memory rather than immortalized in a photo. Since you have such amazing photos of them all at rest there was no need to photograph that private moment. Love the vision into today’s waves… Thanks Anthony, as always.
Thanks, Judy! I have to remind myself to put the camera/phone down sometimes. 🙂
Anthony thank you for that story and I love that Willy B was so comfortable with you laying near him that he drifted off to sleep. I would have loved a picture of that but it was more important to let him rest peacefully.
The pictures in this post of the Chimps sleeping or just resting are beautiful. Thank you. Hope you have a restful night too.
Thanks! Watching them nap is always great.
Thanks Anthony, It sounds like you had a loud morning, Congrats on riding the wave !
I love these sleepy pictures, they look like angels, you would never guess about the earlier ruckus. 🙂
It has been a loud WEEK, CeeCee! As you said, these chimps know how to “bring da ruckus.”
Does this mean that the lower ranking chimps sometimes go without some meals?
Hey Marcie!
Entire meals, no. Sometimes there will be specific items of high-value that we decide to hold onto until the group has calmed down. We don’t want to get a low-ranking chimp “in trouble” by offering them something when the dynamic doesn’t allow for them to safely take it.
Generally speaking, they get plenty of opportunities to forage so it isn’t imperative that they all get 100% of their food at the same time. It’s important to make sure everyone eats enough, of course, so we record each of the rare events when a chimp blocks another from getting a food item and will sometimes compensate for it later.
Good to know, thanks for the response. Btw, always enjoy your contributions to the Blog.
No problem, Marcie! Thanks for supporting us and following the blog! 🙂
Hahaha, if I had pom poms, I’d be shaking them as I do my happy dance, singing “go Neggie, go Neggie..”
I don’t like to see Mave or anyone shorted of their chow bags, but I love to see these little glimmers in the old girl….someone said she’s like a senior citizen, driving with the blinker on, but things like this show she’s smarter than they think: she knows she can stay in bed late, and you’ll bust out some peanuts. She doesn’t knock herself out on a forage because she knows someone will share. And while everyone else is screaming, she quietly makes off with the loot!
I’ve asked before, but what happens if someone takes another’s chow? Do you guys try to slip her a little more later to make up for it?
Hey Linda! I didn’t necessarily want Negra to get the chow, but I was impressed by her audacity. You have to appreciate Neggie and her priorities! 🙂
As for the issue of compensating for stolen food, I touched on that in my response to Marcie’s question above. Stealing is actually more rare than you’d expect. We don’t usually replace food if a chimpanzee declines to take it, but we will sometimes do so if it was stolen outright or if social pressure seems to be the main factor affecting their decision. There’s often a risk of causing further social conflict, so it needs to be done judiciously. They all get enough food throughout the day, so getting someone a few extra pieces of chow isn’t worth starting a fight.
Loved the image of you on the floor beside your exhausted charge. What a touching moment and that you even thought to do such a thing.
We often publish videos of us playing chase and tickle with the chimps, which is fun for everyone, but there’s something to be said for just chilling around them, too. 🙂
Such a nice insight into chimp behavior. It is a honor that Willy chose to spend some quality down time with you and was comfortable enough to drift off to sleep! What a special moment with that big handsome man! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Deanna!
Rule Number 1 : Do not get between Neggie and her chow bag!
Rule Number 2 : Do not get between Neggie and her treat bag!
Happy Negra won the day in the end. ‘Atta girl!
Thanks for sharing your personal moment with the tuckered out Willy B. What a privilege to have him approve of your resting presence so close to him. A moment you will probably always carry with you. I think chimpanzees are wonderful because they CAN explode, express their intentions, and in a flash be resting, reassuring, and/or grooming alongside their adversary becoming friends and allies again. Where did we humans go wrong with this form of community politics?
The resting, sleeping, nesting photos were the perfect way to kick off my Monday. Thanks for brightening my day!
Thanks, Kathleen! I’m glad you liked the post. 🙂
What a great write up! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Thanks, Deanna!