Willy B is a very unique person. He is aloof a lot of the time with the humans around him, but sometimes surprises us with the gift of a game of chase! Most of the time he is busy keeping track of Cy and spending time grooming with him. This makes sense, as Cy is a wonderful leader of his group and protector of Willy B when disputes occur in the group, in addition to Honey B and Mave. Willy B can be a bit awkward, both with chimps and humans, which often manifests itself as avoiding eye contact or seemingly not understanding the expected repercussions of his actions within his group. For example, Willy B may display, which can be perceived as a threat by others in his group who respond by becoming upset and chasing Willy B. He often seems almost surprised when this happens, and can become fearful and rely on others to defend him from the individuals he upset with his display. He is very fortunate to have strong friendships that help him navigate living in a larger group. Willy B has grown in many other ways since he arrived at the sanctuary too, including conquering The Bray and enjoying many small but joyful moments of sanctuary within his larger group of chimpanzees.
Cy inside the box with Willy B to the right, after playing together.
Cy and Willy B grooming
Willy B was born November 30, 1990 at the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP). Our records say his father’s name was Stu, and only provide a number for his mother: #526. Willy B moved to Wildlife Waystation along with over 30 other chimpanzees when LEMSIP closed in 1996, where he stayed until his journey to CSNW in 2019. Willy B arrived with Mave and Honey B on August 18, 2019 after Wildlife Waystation announced it was closing. They have since been integrated with the Lucky Six to form a group of nine.
L to R: Honey B grooming Mave grooming Willy B
Willy B is a big fan of many different foods, and serving him any type of crunchy vegetable (especially fennel) always makes my day as he holds it to the side of his mouth and crunch, crunch, crunches it like a rabbit! It is a very small thing but always makes me laugh, and I love watching him enjoy his meals because he so thoroughly enjoys them. He especially enjoys coconuts and is improving his techniques to get them open.
Willy B with a coconut
Willy B, while he often appears serious, definitely has a goofy side too. He loves to appreciate his reflection if you let him look at himself on your phone, and makes some silly faces while doing so. He also loves to watch chimp videos, and has his own curated YouTube channel with all his favorite videos! Interestingly enough, he seems to prefer watching his videos on a phone versus the big screen. He has a very specific spot he likes to watch his videos in during our first round of cleaning for the day, right by where we keep the tools for cleaning, so he can easily get your attention to set up his stories with some persistent raspberries. He will often build himself a nest to sit or lay in while he watches his videos, and sometimes gets so excited by them that he can’t contain his excitement and lets out a pant hoot! I have shown him some videos of chimps that I used to work with, and he seems to have a favorite as of now…Ivy. I had thought Carlee would be his favorite, as I have a lot of videos of her as a rowdy baby playing with the other juveniles in her group and she is always up to silly antics, but he didn’t show very much interest in her. As soon as I showed him a video of Ivy looking at herself, he leaned towards the glass window where my phone was to get a better look, and watched intently throughout the rest of the video.
Willy B’s face while looking at himself in my phone camera
Beautiful Ivy of Chimp Haven
I am loving continuing to get to know Willy B every day, and have been so happily surprised by several play sessions with him in just the past week! You have to pay close attention to realize he is interested, as often it starts with him tapping his wrist against the caging to get your attention which can be very subtle, and then requires some persistence on your part to get the game going. Volunteer Krissy and I had the best play session with him last week, stomping around with him while playing chase and then just stomping our feet while he stomped his. We all just enjoyed the moment of being silly, being ourselves, and sharing the moment together.
A huge thank you to Willy B’s pals: Vicki, Monica, Kathleen, Sharlene, Candy and Karla for their support of this wonderful chimpanzee!
If you think Willy B is as fun as I do, make him your Valentine by becoming his Pal today! We appreciate it!
CarolR says
I have the photo of Willy B in his recovery socks, Christmas themed, on the playing cards I use for my iPad. I do wonder if they suffered mental health problems due to their early years, or perhaps didn’t get the opportunities to socialize as infants and never learned what is acceptable behaviou? Anyway, he turned into a handsome guy and negotiates his way through……a lot of the time!
Elizabeth says
He’s such a handsime guy, and I think he could start a new exercise craze with his slinky moves!
Kathleen says
I fell for Willy B the moment I saw him. The more I learn about him, the faster my heart beats. I have faith that with time Willy B will learn the ropes and grow socially. He couldn’t have a better teacher than his good friend Cy.
Would love to see a video of Willy B, in his cozy nest, enjoying a video of his new girl Ivy. What a funny guy. It’s funny how he enjoys his favorite shows. Hey, does he still bust out his Slinky moves?
Love you handsome Willy B!
Eli says
With his dashing good lucks and bad boy attitude, what’s not to love about Willy B?
He’s always struck me as really insecure for such a big and strong guy. It makes me happy he’s got a great friend in Cy to help him figure out the social order.
Tobin says
Willy B has a beautiful smile and play face. He is a delight to see when he is enjoying himself, whether Cy and him are clacking through a grooming or he is swinging his arm with Rayne beside a gatorade tub.
Deanna says
Im ao glad Willy B is now part of a bigger group as I am for Honey and Mave aa well. I echo previous sentiments that Cy is an exceptional alpha and shows Willy B much patience! Willy is a very handsome chimp with yhose chisled features.
Patricia K says
I am so happy to hear about the progress Willy B has made….I can remember when he was afraid to even go outside and especially to get off the wooden walkway and touch the grass. And I think it’s especially sweet that he has bonded with Cy, another of my favorite guys.