Today has been a much needed rainy day, which meant a lot of chimps looking all comfortable in their blanket nests. While rain was coming down, introductions continued with the original plan of having a quad group that included Willy B, Honey B, Cy, and Rayne. But as we have said many times before, the chimpanzees definitely decide how things are done over here. To start the day off Willy B, Honey B, and Mave decided they wanted to keep the Mezzanine during lunch, postponing cleaning. Honey B and Willy B teamed up and took turns to go out to the playroom to grab food while the other secured the area. Quite admirable if you ask me. Then, the ideal quad group was not achieved and the chimps that were together yesterday, Honey B, Willy B, Cy, and Lucky met again in the front rooms.
While off to a rough start with a lot of displaying and a minor scuffle, they managed to share some very nice peaceful moments. Willy B and Cy shared a long grooming session that lasted over ten minutes straight and then some shorter moments that were also very positive. Willy B even had some saliva foam on the side of his mouth from all the lip smacking while grooming Cy. On the other hand, Honey B and Lucky took a little longer to interact in such positive ways but Lucky invited Honey B to join her in the platform for a grooming session and she complied. While not as long as a moment, every positive moment gets us closer to uniting the two California groups. When the time came to separate the four and get them back to their original groups, they did not comply. Having Jen Feuerstein, behaviorist specialist, here has been a amazing to help oversee and make decisions like letting the four have a sleepover. Tonight, Willy B and Honey B, and Cy and Lucky will spend a *supervised* night together in the front rooms. We will update everyone tomorrow hopefully with good and exciting news!
Cy and Willy B grooming
Lucky and Honey B engaging in some play and groom
Jamie spotted Negra’s nest and climbed in as soon as she got the chance
Honey B this morning hanging out in the green house before the rain started pouring down
