In today’s Valentine’s series I’ll be highlighting Dora! Dora lives with Cy, Terry, Gordo, George, Rayne, and Lucky. Dora is a social butterfly who brings the fun everywhere she goes! She is a small chimpanzee with a large personality. She is playful and silly, and when she’s not busy playing or grooming with her chimpanzee friends, she enjoys being tickled with a spoon by her caregivers, playfully poking her caregivers, or checking herself out in a mirror.
Honey B (L) and Dora (R)
Dora (L) and Rayne (R)
Up close and personal with Dora as she looks at herself.
Dora was born on June 6th, 1989 at the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP). Her records say that her mother was Stella and father was Les. She has many half siblings, including Gordo who has the same father! When LEMSIP closed in 1996, Dora moved to Wildlife Waystation along with over 30 other chimpanzees. After Wildlife Waystation closed in 2019, Dora moved to CSNW with the rest of the “Lucky Six” on June 26, 2021. After arriving at CSNW, her group was later introduced to Willy B, Honey B, and Mave. While that introduction was ultimately not successful and the groups now live separately, Dora formed lasting friendships and still goes for visits with her friends Honey B, Mave, and Willy B.
Honey B (L) and Dora (R)
Honey B (L) and Dora (R)
Dora is best known for her friendship with Mave (together they are lovingly referred to as Mora, or Mora B when Honey B joins the mix) and her signature head bobble when interacting.
Mave (L) and Dora (R)
Mave (L) and Dora (R)
You’re most likely to find Dora relaxing upstairs in the greenhouses or spending time with her chimpanzee friends. When she’s in the same group with Mave, you can expect that Mave will not be far away from wherever Dora is.
Dora
Dora
Dora is also exceptionally good at food puzzles, only firehose knots still have her stumped!
Dora working on a food puzzle.
Dora is such a fun chimpanzee to know and love. Watching her interact with her chimpanzee friends is the best – she can get just about anyone to let loose and have some fun! As their group dwindled in numbers with chimps being added into the introduction, Dora and Gordo spent more and more time playing together. When the time came for Gordo to join the introduction, Dora joined Willy B’s group and everyone was so happy to see her. They followed her around everywhere she went, with everyone wanting to play with her. When she rejoined her group (plus George!), they too were happy to have Dora back and spent a lot of time grooming together. My favorite memories of Dora are of watching her and Honey B play and have so much fun together. Dora makes every day more fun for those around her, and I am so grateful to know her! If you’ve fallen in love with Dora and would like to support her, by becoming her pal, visit the link here. Thank you to Dora’s 6 current pals for supporting our fun-loving friend!
Mave (L) and Dora (R)
Dora
Everybody loves Dora!
Ellen, does this mean that you are no longer going to attempt to bring the six and the three back together?
Dora is adorable beyond words! She is one of the most distinctive-looking chimpanzees I have ever seen.
Still, I am concerned that Dora lives apart from her beloved Maeve and Honey B. I hope that they can enjoy many play dates with their famous Girls’ Club, preferably when Willy is outside and causing the neighbor ladies to hoot in rapture and/or screech in outrage at him.
Ms. Popular! Dora is lucky because she can hang with both groups! I hope Dora gets lots of visits with Mave and Honey B this year. Those three together or coupled off are such a joy to see.
I wish I could be a Pal to everyone! Love them all for who they are.
Just like you, Kathleen, I wish I could be a pal to all the chimps, as I love them all. However I live on a very limited pension, so I chose to be a Produce Pal instead. Now, when there’s a party or just when they’re enjoying their scrumptious menus, I feel that their happy food grunts are thanking me for playing a small part in that.
Sending hugs and love to Dora and everyone at the sanctuary on this Valentine’s day. Like Kathleen, I wish I could be a Pal to all the chimpanzees at CSNW but of course it was my delightful Annie who captured my heart. Happy, Happy Valentine ? :sparkling_heart: one and all.
Love you Dora