I’m excited to continue our Be Mine series with the one and only, floofy, loveable, Mave.
Mave (also known as Mavis, Mavie, Mavie Baby, and/or half of the formidable pair known as Mora) came to CSNW on August 18, 2019 with Willy B and Honey B. Mave was born on September 25th, 1989 at the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP). Our records state that her mother’s name was LuLu, who was owned and kept for years by the Primate Foundation of Arizona, a ‘chimpanzee breeding colony and behavioral research center‘.
We’ve, thankfully, been able to learn more about Mave over the last few years. We originally did not know who Mave’s father was, but early last year we discovered that her father is Conrad– meaning that she is half-siblings with our very own Terry! They definitely resemble each other in both face and general floof level. It’s really comforting to know this detail about their lives.
We also learned the real date of Mave’s birthday! We had chosen to celebrate her birthday on May 27th, since her medical records had not included her date of birth. Then we learned that her actual birthday is September 25th, so last year we celebrated two birthdays for Mave (and also for Willy B)!
Mave spent the first seven years of her life at LEMSIP, before moving to Wildlife Waystation in 1996 when LEMSIP closed. She lived there for 23 years before coming to CSNW, after Wildlife Waystation closed due to financial difficulties. She now lives in a group of nine after the integration of her group with the ‘Lucky Six’.
During her time at LEMSIP, after she was taken from her mother and put in the nursery to be raised by human technicians, Mave lived with a male chimpanzee named Goliath. From the stories we have heard, they were a closely bonded pair. They continued to live together after moving to Wildlife Waystation for many years until he passed away.
It’s easy to fall in love with Mave.
She knows how to relax and enjoys spending time totally sprawled out on the floor, on her back with her feet up against the wall. She has the self-care concept locked down.
Mave also has some of the *best* food squeaks in the building. When we bring out meals, sometimes even before she has seen what’s on the cart, you can usually hear her high-pitched food squeaks through the foyer.
Mave loves, and she loves hard. When she has decided that you are one of her people, that’s it. She can take a while to warm up to the humans and I remember it took a while for her to interact with me outside of meals. I personally feel like I’ve seen a change in our relationship in the last few months, in the sense that I’ve spent more time grooming with her, knuckle-rubbing, or interacting with her through a game of chase. A year and a half of patience is totally worth it to be her friend. She is intentional in her relationships and we love her for it.
In her chimp family, she is the ‘Mo’- to Dora’s ‘Ra’. The two of them became fast friends when their groups were integrated and now they are almost always found within a few feet of each other. When they get excited or scared, they will often run into the others arms for a nice, reassuring hug. It didn’t take long for them to earn the nickname ‘Mora‘ from staff, since they are attached at the proverbial hip. They spend a lot of time grooming, sitting next to each other, playing, sitting near each other, napping (near each other)… They are the best of friends. Integrating two groups of chimps is stressful, but seeing the bonds they’ve all made with each other has made it worth it- especially these two. Mave lost Goliath, but she was able to find Dora and for that I am grateful.
Mave also has a bit of a saucy streak. The groups were integrated, she determined Dora was her person, and the next thing we knew she was putting a quick stop to a certain behavior from Terry. She looks out for her friends.
It’s not just with Terry that we’ve seen Mave stand up for something that she believes in. We’ve mentioned her complicated relationship with Gordo in the blog before, where she feels motivated to pressure him into giving up some of his food to her during meals. He’s gotten pretty good at avoiding her, but if she finds him he’ll give her an empty bag or the butt of a carrot instead of a whole item. It’s brilliant on Gordo’s part, and I think maybe it shows that for Mave it’s less about the food item and more about the power dynamic.
On the flip side of relaxing and intimidating Gordo, she is often found grooming or playing with her family. She can be so relaxed and then she’ll get involved in a fast paced game of chase that has her moving through all the chimp spaces! If you want to see more of her goofy side, watch the ‘Fall in Love’ video below. It’ll put a smile on your face, I promise.
We love Mave and we love that you all love her, too! Thank you so much to Mave’s current Chimpanzee Pals; Vicki, Monica, Sharlene, Heather & Jarrod, Craig & Kim, Lisa, and Laura.
Do you feel like you connect with Mave, a bit like how she’s connected to Dora? You can become her Pal, too! Click here for more.