This morning, George got to see a little bit more of the sanctuary.
As an accompaniment today’s video, I thought it might be helpful to detail the process of accepting a new chimpanzee, particularly for those of you who are just now tuning in to our blog because of George. We’re so heartened to see the concern that you all have for George’s well being and we know that you have questions about what lies ahead.
There are three main things that we’ll be focusing on in the coming weeks and months: Ensuring George’s health and that of the chimpanzees already at the sanctuary, allowing him to become familiar with his new home, and eventually integrating him into a social group.
George received a preliminary medical exam on the day he was transferred to the sanctuary and he will receive a second, more thorough exam this week. These exams will help us ensure that he is in good health and will give us a baseline for future comparisons as he ages. The sanctuary’s veterinarian, Dr. Erin, will lead the exam but she will be joined by other veterinarians and specialists so that we can do the most thorough evaluation possible, including an echocardiogram to screen for heart disease. George is currently in quarantine, which is designed to limit the possibility that he could pass along an infectious illness to the sanctuary’s other residents. The length of the quarantine period is based on both the incubation periods for the illnesses we are concerned about and the results of the two exams, but at a minimum it will last several weeks.
As the quarantine process allows, we’ll also be gradually giving George time to explore to the different enclosures and habitats here at the sanctuary. The sanctuary consists of two main wings, one that houses the very first group to arrive at the sanctuary in 2008 and a new wing that currently houses two different groups that were rescued in 2019 and 2021. Each wing has smaller rooms for medical recovery, quarantine, and social introductions, one or two larger, two-story indoor playrooms, one or two two-story greenhouse enclosures, and a multi-acre outdoor habitat. We’ve found that chimpanzees who have lived on concrete floors for much of their lives can have difficulty adjusting to natural substrates, such as the bark mulch in the greenhouse enclosures and the grass and dirt in the outdoor habitats. This adjustment period can take anywhere from several weeks to several years; a few of the chimpanzees we took in in 2019 still prefer to avoid natural surfaces whenever possible. It’s possible that George will need time to adjust as well. Chimpanzees can become institutionalized in other ways, too—notably, chimps who have lived in smaller enclosures can be somewhat apprehensive about open spaces. The two-acre habitat that George will have access to is an open-top enclosure with expansive views of the surrounding mountains so it may require some time before he becomes comfortable. We’re hopeful that George will adapt quickly but he will be in charge.
And finally, a word on integration. It’s a difficult process and there’s never a guarantee that it will work out. Because we know little about George other than the fact that he has lived alone or in pairs for his adult life, we will move forward cautiously. When it’s time, we’ll have him meet some other chimps one-on-one at the mesh. This will be our first chance to assess whether or not he exhibits appropriate chimpanzee behaviors, to gauge his confidence (surprisingly, underconfidence can be worse than overconfidence during introductions), and to determine how his potential new group mates react to him. This process moves along in baby steps, with successful meetings at the mesh (“howdies”, as the are called in zoo and sanctuary parlance) followed by brief one-on-ones together in the same enclosure. Once he has had multiple successful meetings with each member of his potential new group, the process can gradually build until he is integrated in the group as a whole. This can take months. I want to be very upfront here and share that some amount of fighting is to be expected. The responsibility of our staff is to try to foresee and limit the worst aggression while allowing the chimps to work out their social order as chimps do. If George isn’t compatible with the first group we try him with, we will have other options and will ensure that he finds a group of his own. Because he really deserves to be with other chimpanzees.
I’ll leave you with a few photos of today’s lunch forage on Young’s Hill.
Foxie, Annie, Missy, and Burrito:
Burrito:
Annie:
Missy:
Foxie:
