Today, my phone sent me a notification of a memory from last year. One year ago, the quarantine period for the Lucky Six ended and got to be closer to their neighbors (at the time): Willy B, Honey B, and Mave. It doesn’t feel like it has been a year, but at the same time it feels like it’s been over a year. A lot has happened since, like the Lucky Six’s “neighbors” aren’t their neighbors anymore. They are one big group. Since they have been living together for almost three months, it’s hard at times to think they were ever two separate groups.
One of the budding relationships we didn’t anticipate in this new group was that of Mave and Dora. During the introduction process, Mave and Dora didn’t necessarily have bad interactions. Their interactions just were never the best. Lackluster is a word that could describe it. They were mostly low key and in short spurts. After the full integration, their friendship really started to come to fruition. At first, it seemed like Mave would just follow Dora constantly with Dora trying to get away. As the weeks went by, and Mave showed Dora what support she could offer as a friend, Dora stopped trying to escape Mave. Or at least as much. There are still times when Dora does want her alone time, but Mave now seems to get the hint when that is. Mave will leave her alone for a little while (but not too long), interact with the others, before returning to Dora.
It is now not an uncommon sight to find these two together in the afternoon, side-by-side.
One day, I even found them like this. Laying down, holding hands, and just staring at each other.
Later on, something startled Dora. I couldn’t see what caused Dora to become upset, but she started alarm calling, followed by screaming, before racing off into the Riverview Greenhouse. Mave was in the other room, but she heard Dora and followed the screams to the greenhouse. As Mave emerged from the Marmot Playroom, Dora leaped towards Mave and they embraced in the most endearing hug I have seen.
That hug seemed to calm Dora down.
I, for one, personally cannot wait to see how this friendship blossoms even further!
Here are some bonus photos from today!
Gordo eating some fingerling potatoes at lunch:
Jamie enjoying a raspberry branch as browse:
Terry in the Riverview Greenhouse with a mouthful of water and wadge in hand:
Jody watching some construction around Young’s Hill:
And resting in the afternoon:
Annie foraging for some pre-breakfast prickly lettuce:
Burrito racing toward me as I was taking the above photo, telling me it’s time to race:
Rayne relaxing inside where it’s cooler:
Dora in her patent Happy Dora Pose:
Cy grooming Mave grooming Willy B:
Cy catching up on all the latest celebrity news a couple of days ago:
We also want to thank our friends at Tru Earth! About a year ago, as an ongoing effort to reduce our environmental footprint, we switched the detergent we use to wash the chimpanzee’s blankets. Tru Earth were kind enough to start a fundraiser store just for us. Twenty percent of every purchase made from this unique URL will go toward the chimpanzees! If you are in need of cleaning supplies or other eco-friendly products, please consider shopping at this site!
