The introductions just keep on coming. Today Cy and Willy B met! I would say it went pretty well. We always let them interact through the mesh before opening any doors between them. Willy B and Cy groomed for awhile at the mesh and had some amazing grooming sounds. They groomed everything from toes to heads to backs to faces. After we opened the door they played a little bit of chase from room to room. They did this on and off and was initiated a lot by Cy’s playful foot stomps. Even though the door was open they still preferred to groom through the mesh at first. Willy B would go over and sit on one side of it and head nod at Cy then Cy would join him in a grooming session. Eventually they felt comfortable enough to groom without mesh between them. They didn’t interact the whole time they were together and during these periods Cy would pull out his magazine to read while Willy tried to see what new potential friends were on the other side of the door.
Click here to see a short video from their grooming session today!
Willy B and Cy grooming.
Here are some bonus photos from today.
Lucky wearing a nice scarf.
Missy grooming Annie.
Bravo! Well done, gentlemen. I’ve felt cautious about the guys meeting, due to ego and competition. But why worry about them, when Honey B has shown us full well how females do it. Cy and his reading, and Willy B looking for something new, is the height of cool.:kissing_heart:
I still worry, too, Maureen. This is a good sign, but the dynamic will/might change when they’re all together, and control of the group is in play. I’m sure they’ll have to see how these two do together at meal time, too
I actually broached that in tonight’s comment but from a different angle.
We all know how important control is for the alpha (be it male or female in the wild), so there is that consideration.
Then, the original 7 have had the time of these hoomans exclusively for over ten years–that’s the longest they’ve ever been treated with kindness at any one stretch as far as I’m aware.
And finally, in light of chimpanzees’ ability to feel hatred like humans, added to their well-documented history of holding deep grudges and even planning revenge over a period of years, it made me wonder if maybe the original 7 just might be a little reticent to share their time with any new interlopers; maybe new introductions might not be so easy because they might feel threatened; maybe their place in the heirarchy as a whole isn’t secure in their minds. Granted, my doctoral work is in Astrophysics *and* Applied Mathematics, and I don’t yet have all credits for my primatology minor yet, but after parsing all I’ve read, all I’ve seen, all I’ve studied, it seems like it could be a logical conclusion for just about any chimps in this situation.
I love these types of discussions though because I love to learn. We like to say how much we as a race like learning about ourselves from chimps, well maybe this is one time we can apply some of our grey matter patterns to their brains to learn more about them. Y’know, a weird kind of “grey it forward”. :rofl:?:nerd: Go nerds!
I continue to be impressed by Cy’s demeanor. He seems to know how to read a room and put others at ease. Hopefully Mave and Cy (and Jen!) will bring these two groups together successfully. That would be so grand! especially for The Three.
Hi Sam, sorry your video link isn’t working for me. I just get a still image to download – pesky internet links.
It sure seems like Cy is his own guy, he knows who he likes and what he likes to do, and nobody is going to shake him up. Thanks for the updates!
Hi Sam,
Oh how endearing those two cool guys together. That is such good news.
And Lucky with her fancy scarf….remind you of someone????
cy is the guy! what a handsome, interesting chimp. So happy the introductions are going so well. it would be great to have a hill of 9 plus a hill of 7. no video by the way. thanks for these daily blogs! they are a lot of work and are always interesting.
So enjoyed hearing all the details on the first meeting of my pal Willy B and Cy. Especially liked how they chose to continue to groom between the mesh! And thanks for the little video clip, that’s some serious lip smacking with both fellows. (For those who had trouble with video playback, be patient and wait it out. The video should begin to play after a brief wait. So worth it!)
Your introductions are the best news out there and much needed to lift my spirits sky high. May the good vibes continue this week!!
Cy is a true reader: always have something on hand to read in case there’s a break in the action.
Hey there, fellow reader! 😀
i have to admit I was super nervous for this intro and am so thrilled it went well!!! phew! Now for Gordo…
Wow!! :astonished: This is absolutely amazing news! The downside of not having enough time to even check your gnarled hair in the mirror to find your missing cat is that you miss the *really* important things in life, like this! I wasn’t even aware that other introductions had taken place. Well done, you!!
What made you decide to take the plunge and try again, or had that sort of been your plan all along?
I wonder: do you guys think that perhaps the original 7 just won’t accept *anyone* that comes to live there? We all know that chimpanzees feel hatred like humans and that they can and do hold grudges for sometimes years. I dunno. As I was reading through this it made me wonder if maybe they don’t feel some resentment toward anyone else who suddenly appears and is now taking a huge chunk of the time they once had completely alone with y’all. Since you obviously know them better, is this even something you guys have discussed in-depth? I’m very interested in the answer.
I add my heartfelt thanks for everything you guys do.
Cheers! :blue_heart::green_heart::purple_heart: (And thanks SO MUCH for the kewel new emojis!:nerd:)
Since the videos are set straight to download, make sure you have enough room on the device with which you’re accessing it.