So far in their short time at the sanctuary we haven’t seen Cy and Gordo spend a lot of quality time together. They both seem to gravitate towards other members of their group for socialization. This morning was a different story though. Just before breakfast, Kelsi captured them playing this odd but entertaining box game. Make sure to watch the video all the way to the end for a bonus clip of Gordo’s AMAZING play face!
When Honey B met Luna
Those that regularly follow the blog might remember that my daughter Luna was born just before the pandemic took hold of this country (January 2020). I wrote about her first visit to the sanctuary in this blog last year. At the time,Honey B was particularly interested in her and wanted to get a closer look.
Luna, now a curious toddler, got a (special daughter of staff) opportunity to visit the chimps again last month. This time, for the chimps’ safety and hers, we visited through the windows in our new enclosed mechanical room. This room gives us a convenient little peek into two areas inhabited by Honey B’s group and Cy’s group.
Somehow Honey B seemed to already know about her little visitor and was waiting at the window to greet her.
For those that know Honey B well (and have been repeatedly dowsed with mouthfuls of smoothie spit directly in their face), it’s a little bit odd that she seems to show a gentler side to smaller humans. We’ve joked that perhaps she’s planning a long con so she can entrap Luna in an eternal squeeze. We’ll never really know, but for now, I choose to believe she just really likes children.
Meredith’s Birthday Party
It was a busy day for us as we turned our focus onto continuing the intros in the Chimp House, so apologies for the brief blog.
Up the hill from the Chimp House we celebrated Meredith’s birthday today in the way that you throw a cow a party, we gave her some of her favorite food! For the cattle, they have pretty simple tastes. They like grass and hay, but they LOVE grain! Here’s to many more scoops of birthday cob in the coming years at the sanctuary! Please check out Katelyn’s blog from this morning as it is a proper ode to the lovely Meredith!
Building friendships
If you’ve been following along with our latest round of introductions, we’ve had some ups and downs in the process. Despite a few setbacks, the chimpanzees and their caregivers have bravely forged ahead, trying and retrying different small configurations of the groups so they can continue to build (or rebuild) relationships.
We continue the intro process so the chimps can share moments together like today’s lengthy play session between Rayne and Honey B. The two of them had another raucous play date in the front rooms this afternoon. It’s our hope that this is just one of many joy filled moments that the two get to share together.
Be sure to bid on the note card sets featuring photos of Rayne, Honey B and the rest of their group mates. You can check them out on our Hoot! online auction, happening right now!
Raisins and Magazines
Yesterday I watched Cy’s group put on a dramatic display around their playroom just before lunch. This isn’t unusual, as chimps do daily dominance displays. What I found amusing about this particular show of passion, was that in the middle of all the chaos, plastic barrels getting thrown around the enclosure and pant hoots echoing off the wall, sat Cy. He was completely calm and absolutely enthralled with his latest magazine. The same thing happened this morning as most of the chimps investigated a food puzzle. As you will see in the video, Cy had better ideas.
An assortment of moments
We’re taking another break from intros until next week which means it’s been a laid back kinda afternoon at the sanctuary. Sometimes in can actually be pretty nice when there’s no major significant event to note about a day.
Pumpkin Spice (without the spice)
Pumpkin seeds are a regular part of the chimps’ diets. Earlier this summer we noticed that several seeds had gone unnoticed and sprouted into full pumpkin plants on the grassy floor of Greenhouse 2. We’ve been admiring the vines’ growth as they’ve spread out and blossomed remarkably well. Also to our amazement, the chimpanzees have been ignoring the foliage (if Jody’s group lived there we are certain the plants would never have made it this far).
However, as Sam reminded me the other day, pumpkin spice season has already begun. Almost on cue with the yearly debut of the autumn flavored latte, we caught Gordo and Dora snacking on pumpkin leaves in Greenhouse 2 this morning. Perhaps this is a trendy new way to enjoy an old seasonal favorite?
Dora (in a box):
Gordo:
