Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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friendship

Palling Around with Missy and Annie

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If you’ve have been following the blog for any length of time, you likely know that Annie and Missy are best friends.  They explore together, lounge together, nap together, and (my favorite) play together!

Recently, on a beautiful summer day, I was cleaning in the front rooms and heard the delightful sound of chimpanzee laughter.  Who could it be?  Burrito is the usual suspect.  But on this day, I found Annie and Missy engaged in a playful wrestling match.  Everyone else was out lounging in their greenhouse, and exploring on Young’s Hill, but these two were happy to stay indoors in a raucous play session!

I was looking at old blog posts about Annie and Missy and I came across a post by Diana from March of 2008 – 3 months before the original group of 7, the Cle Elum 7, arrived at the sanctuary.  It’s clear that these chimpanzee friends have had a special relationship for a very long time!

Being Friends with Foxie

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Being friends with Foxie means being friends with her dolls. To be accepted into their clique takes time, patience, and trust. You know you’ve entered her realm when she blows raspberries to get your attention, hands over a doll, and a whole new wonderful world of imagination is graciously placed before you. Now the fun begins!

Chimpanzee Dynamics – It’s Complicated

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As I was putting together videos for today’s blog, some playful moments between Foxie, Jamie, Burrito and Negra, I realized they presented a nice moment to highlight the complicated intricacies of chimpanzee politics and friendships. We have observed a lot of complicated and sometimes downright confusing moments as we have undergone the reintroduction process with the group of 9, constantly looking to understand their relationships and dynamics to determine next steps, but “it’s complicated” can be applied even in long-standing groups of chimpanzees like Jamie’s group.

Chimpanzees can be brutal. They fight and injure each other, and being low ranking within the group hierarchy can be a tough role to fill. Lower ranking individuals endure more stealing of things like food from higher ranking individuals, usually don’t get first access to the most exciting items (like more novel or high-value foods or enrichment), and can become the recipient of redirected aggression during conflicts within their group even when they weren’t initially involved because they are an “easy” target. Maintaining status as a high-ranking individual isn’t easy either, and depending on the individual and their strategy for maintaining status in their group, they may put themself in harm’s way more frequently in attempts to maintain or improve their rank. An example of this in action could be Willy B displaying and hitting Lucky as part of a dominance display, which then results in many chimps chasing and hitting at Willy B.

Chimpanzees are also capable of remarkable forgiveness and reconciliation, and form meaningful relationships that shape not only their own lives but greatly impact the lives of those around them as well. While the moments of fighting, aggression, and tension can feel very big for us as the humans caring for them, the chimpanzees are often quick to overlook another’s transgressions, and spend time grooming and playing to ease tension and build relationships. Being high-ranking is often not as simple as who is the biggest, strongest, or fastest. Relationships with the other chimpanzees can highly influence where an individual falls in the hierarchy, as friendships can translate to having support during conflicts (or a lack of support), and can limit or expand an individual’s aspirations for higher rank.

I say all that to say, witnessing moments of play between high-ranking and often imposing Jamie and low-ranking Foxie is all the sweeter when you recognize the complexities of their relationship. While Jamie can be intimidating and domineering, they can still find common ground and enjoy moments of play. Burrito and Negra too have a complicated relationship – they have a standing play time each day as they wait for us to finish cleaning their playroom, but Negra is also often a target for Burrito when he feels the need to display. While there are moments of tension, they enjoy many more moments of play and companionship. Being a chimp is just plain complicated!

Rainy day fun!

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Today, the second day of spring, started out promising!  As Ellen and I were giving the cattle an early morning snack, the sun was starting to peek out from behind the clouds.  The sun’s rays felt nice and warm!  I was excited, anticipating a warm, sunny spring afternoon.  Chimps lounging in the greenhouses, and venturing outside.  When I gave Burrito access to his 2 acre outdoor habitat, Young’s Hill, he took off running!  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to join him but I promised I would do a perimeter run with him this afternoon.  Because, you know, it was going to be a sunny spring afternoon, right??

Well, I don’t know if it’s like this everywhere, but, spring in the Pacific Northwest is unpredictable.  Cue the rainfall.

So, what do the chimps do when it rains?

Some chimps like to curl up in a big, warm blanket nest (Negra).

Others like to spend time with a challenging enrichment item (Jamie).

Some prefer to watch their favorite movies and videos (Willy B).

Other chimps peruse the latest gossip magazines (Cy).

But, what do Burrito and Foxie do?

You’ll have to watch the video to find out!

p.s.  Don’t worry, Kelsi couldn’t deny Mr. Bubs a run around the hill in the misty drizzle this afternoon!  You’re a good sport, Kelsi!

Quiet Bonds of Friendship

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If you think of chimp friendships like high school cliques – some are obvious showstoppers, while others fly under the radar. Mave and Dora? They’re the best friends everyone knows about. Missy and Annie? They’re obviously BFFs who can’t get enough of each other. But there’s this quieter duo that’s my personal favorite to watch: Rayne and Lucky.

We don’t see them take part in exuberant play or spending copious amounts of time grooming each other but when it’s quiet and things are winding down you’ll find these two napping together during the day, exchanging unwanted food items between each other at meals and building nests side by side at night.

 Sure, there’s a pecking order – Rayne pulls rank on Lucky now and then, just like Missy does with Annie. But what makes their bond so special is when they’re at their most vulnerable, when it’s time to let their guard down and sleep, they choose each other. And in the complex social world of chimps, that’s worth more than all the playtime in the world.
Check out the blog video here

I already shared these photos for Rayne’s birthday, but they are worth re-posting:

Rayne & Lucky foraging together

 

Lucky & Rayne napping together today while caregivers were cleaning their rooms: