Honey B was born on June 11th, 1989. Just hours after birth she was taken from her mother and raised by human caregivers. Her mother just so happens to be Missy, a now longtime resident at CSNW. Missy and Honey B don’t live together in the same group at the sanctuary, and that’s not for lack of trying. During the now unsuccessful introduction process between Missy and Honey B’s groups, we watched for any inclination that they might know each other, but we didn’t observe any noticeable acknowledgement.
Here’s one of the few photos I could find with them in the same frame. Honey B is on the chair and Missy is sitting in the doorway:
Despite the apparent lack of relationship between Missy and Honey B, caregivers do see some behavior similarities between the two. Whether their behaviors are due to some inherited trait, or just a coincidence, that’s open to interpretation. I’ve listed a few of their shared similarities below:
- An amazing ability to haze caregivers. Honey B is famous for spitting huge quantities of smoothie on an unsuspecting human. Missy always chooses to back up Jamie during hazing events with a round of threat barks and even the occasional leap at the caging.
Missy:
- They’re both high ranking individuals in their groups.
Honey B:
- They’re popular amongst their group mates, often found in a grooming or play session.
Missy:
- They both are extremely intelligent and socially savvy
Honey B:
- They can be stubborn shifters, sometimes choosing to hold up the cleaning process because they decide to stay somewhere else. For Missy it’s the playroom and for Honey B, it’s usually the front rooms that they choose to hang out in.
Missy:
- They egg on the drama. If there’s a fight, you can usually find them in the middle of all the chaos.
Honey B:
- They are both picky eaters, usually preferring to eat just a few of their meal items.
Missy:
Today we talked about the similarities, perhaps another day we can discuss their differences?
That brow ridge!
Thank you, Anna.
It always surprises me that, if we can see the similarities between siblings, like we did with Mave and Terry, that they cannot see it too. Or maybe they can and they just don’t care. :person_shrugging_tone1:?
There was a cute bonobo video over at Slogger Vlogger today, for those interested parties. Some babies and a very active juvenile
In addition to the brow ridge, they have the same ears. I would not have recognized Honey B when she is pilo and involved in a commotion if she hadn’t been identified in the photo. She looks like a very formidable adversary.
Hi JB and Anna,
I remember the process back in 2019. since its been a few years, has there been any thoughts about trying the integration between the two groups again?
Thanks as always! The team rocks!
Thank you Anna! Interesting seeing the comparisons between them. If only they knew.
I know a woman who was adopted at birth. In her late thirties, she looked for and found her birth mother. The two women were similar in countless ways, it was uncanny. Mannerisms, facial expressions, inflection in voices, as well as both being big animal lovers and adopters of strays and shelter animals throughout their lives. Certain details I would have assumed were learned/observed but, like Missy and Honey B, they had never been together, never seen each other. And yet…. I believe in both instances, mother and daughter have always been together in countless little ingrained familial ways.
Thank you, Anna, for raising the mother/daughter (non) relationship between Honey B and Missy. It’s quite sad and disappointing in many ways for despite your colossal efforts to bring them together, they don’t seem to have a connection. Maybe the fact that Honey B was taken from her mum so early in life and then living at the Wildlife Waystation prior to CSNW, she feels “motherless”? Do they always appear to ignore each other or is there some measure of acknowledgement between them? Thanks for giving us yet more food for thought regarding chimpanzee behaviour at CSNW.
A wonderful column. Most people forget these 2 are related.
I sometimes wonder if Missy and the others still think about the babies that were taken from them. Of course, Honey B is a stranger to her, but they do have so many little things in common you really have to say “yep, she’s Missy’s daughter!”
You also forgot: they both have a great sense of balance and amazing athleticism!
Another similarity I see is that they’re both very agile!