As promised, here’s some video of George’s 22nd birthday party.
In other news, Terry rejoined his group this afternoon following a couple days of isolation and rest to recover from having some teeth extracted. More on that tomorrow!
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George Picnics with his New Family
Outdoor forages are a great source of enrichment in the warmer months. George got to search for plenty of treats last summer when he was on his own, but today marked the first time that he got to have lunch outside with his new family since they were fully integrated. He was so excited!
Here are a few bonus photos of Foxie taking her dolls along for the ride during her group’s lunch forage:
George, His New Best Friend, and the Third Wheel
George engaged in a lot of play during the one-on-one intros, especially with the other boys. These were positive interactions, but not a guarantee that he would fit in once part of the larger group. While all signs so far have pointed towards George’s integration being a success, we have been waiting for the day that he would feel comfortable enough to engage in some roughhousing in the larger group setting. This would be an indication that he felt comfortable and secure with his new family. And today, just two weeks after building up the full group, we got to see George play with his new best friend—and an awkward third wheel.
I have to say, we’re excited for George, but we might be even more excited for Gordo. He’s enjoying this new friendship and really deserves a buddy like George.
Party of Five
George has the beginnings of a nice little family, now. We added Lucky last Wednesday and it was remarkably uneventful (unlike Terry’s first day). George is getting more confident but still playing it cautiously around the other chimps and taking his cues from Cy, which is all we can ask for at this point. With some milder temps and sunny skies, the gang got to spend some quality time on the Bray. Terry and George took several walks to the top of the hill together (with Terry beating his chest for the girls on the other side) and everyone got their fill of snow and ice.
Your Weekly Dose of Cy Being Awesome
My phone was filling up with videos of Cy looking out for our boy, George, so I had to share them with you.
Regarding the little skirmish with Terry, this will be an interesting dynamic to keep an eye on. George is outnumbered, and will only be more so over the next few months, so it’s critical that he has Cy backing him up. But bailing him out? That can lead to the development of what we in the primatology business refer to as spoiled brat syndrome. I made that up, of course, but some of my colleagues will recall a certain chimpanzee that could get away with anything because his mom was in charge. And then there’s Willy B. I wouldn’t call Willy B a spoiled brat (he is in a category by himself) but Cy and Honey B did seem to enable his more problematic behavior by defending him without question. I’m actually not worried about George getting away with too much, but I will be curious to see if Cy eventually begins to let out the leash a little bit so that George faces more consequences in situations like these.
For now, I will continue to enjoy watching Cy wait for George at the door to tell him not to go outside without his coat 🙂
Fast Friends
Who do you think is faster…50-year-old Missy or 21-year-old George? The veteran hill sprinter or the new kid on the block? And, importantly, is George technically disqualified from the race if he doesn’t cross the finish line, as Missy seems to suggest?
George is being carefully integrated into Cy’s group, but that hasn’t stopped him from making some friends across the fence and, in the process, keeping everyone (caregivers included) in better shape.
George’s Progress
George has now been at CSNW for 3-1/2 months and he is finally in the thick of the dyadic introduction process, which means he is having one-on-one meetings with his potential group mates in controlled settings.
So far, George has done best when meeting other guys. He has now cruised through multiple intros with Cy, Terry, and Gordo. He’s engaged in lots of playful roughhousing, a few bouts of grooming, and some of the cutest hand-holding you’ve ever seen. More importantly, he has shown that he can adjust his own behavior to meet the needs of the chimps he is with. For example, if another chimp is too nervous to roughhouse, he will give them space and exaggerate his play signals to put them at ease. When Terry became overwhelmed with anxiety during an intro, George sat patiently in the middle of the room and beckoned Terry to come back, all the while nodding his head to provide reassurance. The amount of self-control he exhibits and his attention to the emotional state other chimps are both remarkable given his social history.
His meetings with the girls have been hit or miss. He’s had several great meetings with Rayne, but also a couple of minor conflicts that led to brief bouts of screaming and chasing, with a few slaps thrown in for good measure. The first may have just been the result of George not knowing that some females actually stand up for themselves in the face of typical male intimidation (you’re in Rayne’s world now, George!). The second was almost certainly a misunderstanding during play. Thankfully, neither of them were hurt in these encounters (outside of George’s pride, perhaps) but subsequent meetings have been a little more tense. Dora has only met George at the mesh and the intro didn’t proceed any further than that at the time due to Dora’s reluctance. We decided to have George meet Mave as an “easy” female intro, and it was—until Mave got a little personal with her grooming and George panicked. It was the typical Why are you screaming? Because you’re screaming! You started it! I thought you did!
None of this is all that unusual or unexpected, even for chimps with lots of social experience. But one important skill that George hasn’t demonstrated yet is the ability to reconcile. Chimps have conflicts all the time but they go to great lengths to quickly repair any damage to their relationships and move on. When the girls have attempted to reconcile, George has given them the cold shoulder. That’s not going to cut it.
But he’s showing himself to be a quick learner and he’s got plenty of time. While we’re all eager for George to join a group, it’s more important that he has some time to test out and hopefully improve his social skills in one-on-one settings. George may be in good with the guys, but when he joins the group and the girls get mad at him—which they inevitably will—some of those boys will immediately remember which team they are really on (hint: it won’t be the one with the new guy).
With these new relationships being as critical as they are, we’re also hopeful that George will become more comfortable grooming. The other chimps are eager to groom him and he does accept, but with all the enthusiasm of a hostage (though I swear he was asking Gordo to groom him at one point this afternoon). He has only briefly groomed other chimps, even with Terry lifting and manipulating his hand to get him started. Grooming is currency in the chimp world. George does show interest in grooming humans, so hopefully he’ll start showing that same interest in his chimp friends soon enough.
One area where George has really surpassed our expectations is the speed at which he adapted to the outdoors. Some chimps take years to become comfortable walking on grass or venturing far away from the indoor spaces that tend to feel safer and more familiar. But George walked straight to the top of the Bray on Day 1 and he has only become more comfortable since. He has yet to climb the towers at the very top, but it’s only a matter of time now. While I know that many people are eager for George to be joined by a friend or two on his Bray adventures, we’d like for his play dates to be a little more predictably uneventful before sending them off into the habitat together.
Three and a half months may seem like a long time, but just imagine the world from his perspective—the changes he’s endured, the fears he’s had to overcome, and the amount that he’s had to learn. It must be overwhelming. Thankfully, he’s off to a great start.
