Originally, I planned on writing a blog post for today by following my classic recipe of egregiously bad puns, unnecessary history/science lessons, and some recent photographs of the sanctuary and its residents. In particular, I was going to share a series of images that would convey to everyone just how much snow we have piled around us after “Snomageddon” (and how hard we’re working to keep our paths and entrances clear). I’ve still included those photos here, but Willy B actually stole today’s blog with some mischievous behavior.
Before I elaborate on Willy’s exploits, I’ll have to provide a little context. In the newer wing of the Chimp House, the two former Wildlife Waystation groups reside in two sets of enclosures that essentially mirror each other; this layout enables each group to have access to a playroom, greenhouse, and either the mezzanine or front rooms for most of the day. We try to briefly close the chimps out of each area for daily cleaning, sometimes requiring us to play a weird version of Rush Hour to get things done. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with different strategies when I’m responsible for operating doors and shifting chimps around, and I have had some luck with a new shifting pattern in recent weeks. With all that promise, it was only a matter of time before I fell on my own sword.
This morning, everything initially went well and all the chimps shifted for breakfast. Amid the second round of shifting, during which Honey B usually decides to employ the filibuster to stall our caregiver agenda, it was actually Willy B who derailed my plans.
I had just successfully rotated Honey B, Mave and Willy B into the clean front rooms and invited the six chimps in the neighboring group to cross over from one playroom to the other. In that moment, Willy grabbed one of the bulky rocker toys in Front Room 5 and started drumming on it, causing the whole building to quake with every hit.
Chimps are generally quite preoccupied with their neighbors and are susceptible to social contagion (scientists call this combination the “Neighbor Effect“), so you can imagine the pandemonium that can evolve from one chimp’s abrasive behavior. In today’s case, the whole sanctuary stopped what they were doing to monitor Willy’s incessant banging with the utmost concern. With so much to be worried about, the six chimps in Cy’s group milled around the accessible spaces, occasionally responding with short outbursts of their own while completely ignoring my invitation to switch playrooms. Still, Willy B kept beating on the available surfaces at the expense of our eardrums.
It’s known that chimpanzees display for various reasons (to influence their group members, advertise their fitness, express their emotional state, cope with tension, etc.), but its difficult to identify a clear motive for any single occurrence of this behavior. Thus, we can’t know what caused Willy B to ceaselessly drum on the furniture today, but we can attest that he continued to do so for the better part of an hour while we all tried to stave off headaches. Perhaps his ultimate goal was simply to spice the morning up with a bit of mayhem.
Eventually, we were able to entice Cy’s group out of the messy playroom long enough to close it off, but it took quite a while to get to that point. Even once we had safely unlocked the enclosure, we had to clean them to the rhythm of Willy’s clamor. We expected that the display would culminate in some sort of conflict within the social groups, but Mave rescued them all from that fate. Amid a break in the commotion, Mave hooted, bounced over to Willy B, and pant-grunted right in his stoic face. Perhaps Willy had wanted that acknowledgement all along, or maybe he was simply growing tired and Mave had seized the opportunity to interrupt in the only way she knew how. Either way, the submissive pant-grunt punctuated the relentless drumming that was holding us all hostage, bringing Willy’s uproar to an end.
In addition to the embedded video, I’ve included the aforementioned photographs below. Be safe and have a good week, everyone!
Now THAT is a lot of Oxygen dihydride on the Sanctuary’s property! Besides Burrito’s gullet, where does all that excess water go? I sure hope that the snow can hydrate the Columbia Basin and, perhaps by doing so, mitigate the long, dry summers that seem far too common in the Pacific Northwest.
Alas, poor Willy…it seems like he has cabin fever.
I knew this was an “Anthony post” when I saw the video a couple of hours ago on YT.
Anthony, I had the same thought–I don’t know how those of you with children listen to this all day, then go home to noisy children!
Thanks to Mavelous for making it stop!
omigosh, I’m just realizing that he’s using a primate rocker like the one I sent you!
Well, my wish was to see them enjoy it, lol!
So glad it’s durable!
We were wondering about music for our friends. We’ve seen videos of sanctuaries where guest musicians came to play for the chimps and where recorded music was played during the day, especially on days when the weather kept them inside. They seemed to enjoy the music and new faces. They may even enjoy simple instruments to play. Maybe a special fundraiser to purchase them and someone to give them simple lessons.:blush:
I have asked in the past and they said that they do not care much for music. Jamie has had a small yukulele and xylophone. But I don’t think they care for it.
Thank you for your reply.
Yw!
I have seen those two chimps on England who move in unison, and wondered, as well. But most chimps I’ve seen…it’s hard to tell if they enjoy it, or if they’re dusplaying because they feel territorial
Hi Cynthia!Try a quick search in the link at the bottom of this page. It might provide you with links to past posts of people (some who are well known) who have played music for gang. Even the bovines!
Got it!Thanks!
Hey Cynthia!
We do some acoustic enrichment for the chimps, but it’s not usually something they seem particularly interested in. Occasionally, chimps like Jamie may play with some chimp-safe versions of musical instruments (https://chimpsnw.org/2009/12/music/) and there is definitely a rhythmic component to their regular vocalizations and displays. Even so, scientists have been exploring the enrichment potential of music playback for years with neutral or negative results, and we also have found that the chimps are mostly indifferent to it.
Notably, some famous musicians have played for the chimps in the past. I was actually here as an intern when Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong played an acoustic set for the chimps (https://chimpsnw.org/2015/10/special-visitors-and-new-stuff-for-the-chimps/). In general, they’ve seemed more interested in the visitors- and their boots- than in the music itself.
Thank you Kathleen and Linda C for chiming in, too! Kathleen, that search bar is such a good tool. 🙂
“backup for Eddie Vedder”! 🙂
I use the search bar all the time! To find a favorite photo, past video, check in on past holidays and celebrations, and to relearn important information you all ahve shared with us. Yay for the Search Bar!
Thank you Anthony ,J.B & everyone for blowing thru the day ,getting the heavy snow off the roof, although Cy & WillyB( aka. willy, bass drummer) might just ski off of it. My hat is off to your dedication & sincere love of the chimps you show every day , especially during these chilly days. Thanks for the beautiful photos of the wintry scenery.
What a workout! He’s a very fit boy, but like the rest of the world, he’s getting tired of quarantine! Sweet Mave saves the day, and Honey B gives us our daily laugh. Great photos……that smount of snow will take a long time to clear and melt. Did J B order the optional extra of a snow plow when he picked out the new tractor?? Stay safe y’all.
You call that snow? Why, back in my day I had to walk a mile to school in the stuff AND carry a saxophone! That’s not exactly true, I made my siblings carry the saxophone.
I do remember one Winter in Michigan when the snow across the street in the open field was almost plowed to the tops of the telephone poles. Thankfully, we rode a 1/2 an hour to school in a bus. The bus stop was in front of our house so we could wait and start our garage until we heard the bus at the bottom of the hill
I was born in Dearborn! I went to grade school in South Bend IN so we had that lake effect snow all the time too. Sadly no school buses but it was good exercise.
Our address was Kazoo, but it was on a lake in an unincorporated township in the country
The snow…unbelievable! I hope you get some warmer weather soon.
Willy B, oh my, When I read the blog I thought he must be pounding with his hands but his FEET?? Sweet Mave, she knows how to handle that noise maker. The funniest part of it all, for me, was Honey B and the scarf..she obviously had heard and seen enough.
Your pictures of the snow makes us aware of the very hard weather conditions you have had to work with and through. The crew is remarkable in their dedication to their chimps.
Willy looked like he was taking a temper tantrum. Can a very naughty chimp be reprimanded?
That. Video!! I laughed so hard I was crying. Tobin nailed it — Willy B clearly has a bad case of cabin fever. If I looked out my window and saw that much snow, I’d be banging on things too. After all, Willy is still a California boy at heart. I get it! And then there’s Mave’s fabulous knock-it-off-we’ve-all-had-enough hoot. (Reminds me of Negra) Well done Mave! But it was Honey B that caught me by surprised and gave me the most brilliant laugh. Had to replay the ending a couple of times because I just couldn’t believe my eyes when she dropped that scarf over head right when Willy was passing by. Honey B’s humorless deadpan expression belies her wicked sense of humor.
Thank you Anthony for the photos of the property. Seeing is believing. And all that snow is unbelievable. I wish you warm days to compress and melt the snow and a touch of wind to dry the melt-puddles on your pathways. The only thing worse than all that snow is puddles from melted snow that freeze to solid ice walkways when temps dip low overnight and you awaken to ice everywhere.
Yeah Kathleen, that’s really true when you get a few warm days and then it freezes again. Really awful and dangerous. My favorite time is April, when we still have snow and then we get a good solid day of rain, and it all vanishes overnight, like it never even happened.
Quick! Someone turn that man’s stories on!
Wow, that’s a huge amount of snow. I’ve lived in Minnesota for over 20 years and I can only remember snow like that once or twice. I’ve recently moved to a condo, where someone else is responsible for snow removal, and I’d recommend that for you guys. It’s such a relief hearing the plows at 5:30 am and being able to say to myself “Oh gosh, more snow” and roll over and go back to sleep rather than getting dressed and shoveling the driveway. I like the idea of a chimp condo, I’m sure we could make it work.
Willy B: I AM HERE!!!
That scarf is utterly hilarious. Perfect timing.
When I saw the huge amount(ain)s of snow I had but one thought:
Would n’t Honey B. be thrilled with a snowboard???
I can see her zipping of all those mountains of snow, wearing her favorite beany and scarf….
Please be sure to make a video of that!.
What great flexibility and coordination Willy B shows! Wow–!!
Watched the video again this morning. Knew the ending but still laughed until it hurt. Honey B has perfect comedic timing! Has she been watching vintage “I Love Lucy” programs?!
Speaking of “I Love Lucy”…I think Willy B has been tuning in to watch too because he clearly was doing his best to imitate Ricky Ricardo playing the conga drum! He wasn’t displaying, he’s musically inclined. 😉
Thank you for taking time to send the detailed and interesting information related to chimps and music. I read some articles on the subject and learned so much about their responses to music.
Is barn kitty riding out the storm okay?