Lately we have made efforts to refocus our energy on our introduction program in hopes that the chimpanzees can continue to work towards a cohesive unit. Part of this process is trying different combinations of chimps than we have done in the past, particularly ones that we might be more concerned about fitting together. Today we went for Dora and one of her BFFs Gordo with Honey B and Willy B. There intro wasn’t exactly flawless, but it was such a joy to watch them work through their tension to finally relax enough to play together.
Linda C says
Hi, Anna!
Glad it went okay!
Ol’ Beezus, right out of the gate!
Gordo seemed a bit bored, at the end….isn’t he also Dora’s half brother, as well as BFF? Or did I remember that incorrectly?
Thanks for the video!
tom austin says
well, he jusy got bored hanging around a bunch of girls…..
Linda C says
Willy B: “am I a joke to you?”
Kathleen says
I hope you caregivers get to work through your tensions too, intros must be just as stressful for you. Good luck going forward with the new groups! I’m cheering you on from afar.
Kim Harris says
How do you encourage the ones you want together into the same space while keeping the others in a separate space? I would love to see a video of this process. The “behind the scenes” work that all of you do would be a great video series.
Anna says
It requires a subtle combination of offering the “chosen” chimps food in certain areas and closing the right hydraulic doors so they’re in the chosen area.:blush: