Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Grooming

Family Time in the Greenhouse

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Today, Negra had a nice, quiet lunch by herself in the greenhouse. Afterwards, her family came to spend the afternoon with her.

It was a hot afternoon, but pleasant under the diffuse light of the greenhouse. While Annie and Missy groomed Negra, Foxie played with one of her dolls, pausing at times to pass it to her caregivers.

Jamie has been a good sport about these afternoons with Negra. We are trying to navigate the risks of Negra falling or being injured in a fight by restricting these whole-group visits to the greenhouse and Young’s Hill and to times between meals. As many of you know, Jamie doesn’t like having any limitations placed upon her. This is a face that says I am approaching the limits of my patience.

I found it difficult to take photos of Missy and Annie grooming because Missy kept leaving Annie and putting her back against the caging for me to groom. There’s something about the upper level in the greenhouse that elicits more socialization between the chimps and their caregivers. Because the wall panels are only off in the warmer months, these daily invitations from Missy to groom are essentially seasonal. I was happy to oblige, as long as Annie was still included.

Missy is the kind of chimp that grooms up the hierarchy. I see her directing her grooming toward Jamie, Negra, and Burrito most often. When she is being groomed by Annie, she sometimes reciprocates, but she also tends to focus more on herself. Here she is using a wood chip as a grooming tool.

The chimps have different levels of tolerance for having their photos taken. Burrito and Foxie will do their best to knock the phone out of my hand, while Missy will let me hold the phone in her face for hours on end without complaint.

She showed the same level of tolerance for me today, but interestingly, that tolerance did not extend to me taking photos near Negra. The chimps certainly know that Negra is in a more fragile state and Missy, being protective, responded with a threat bark the first time I pulled my phone out next to Negra. It’s nice to know Negra has so many friends looking out for her.

Grooming in the Greenhouse

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Of the many reasons why chimpanzees engage in social grooming (also known as “allogrooming”), hygiene is thought to be one of the least important. Grooming appears to be much more about strengthening bonds, lowering stress levels, and gaining favors. But evidence suggests that hygiene still plays an important role, as chimps often concentrate on parts of the body that are less accessible to their grooming partners. Because of this, there generally aren’t any parts of the body that are off limits, including noses and backsides.

I’ll Gladly Pay You Next Tuesday For A Pass Today

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The funny thing about life is that things can change at the drop of a hat. Today I had planned to write a blog about just some of the things caregivers see throughout the day and the thought process on how certain decisions are made. That will have to wait for another day because time really got away from me today because of some very distracting chimpanzees who want to play and groom. So hopefully these photos will do for now.

Terry and Gordo:

Gordo (right) inspects Terry (left) after a brief conflict in their group. Grooming, particularly after a fight, is important to reaffirm friendships and trust, especially between two conflicting parties. Though Terry and Gordo weren’t conflicting parties during this one, Gordo is still showing Terry that he can trust him.

Rayne:

Like Gordo, Rayne loves things to sit in/on. Boxes. Benches. Discarded chowbags. Just as long as it’s not the actual floor unless she absolutely has to. Yesterday, when I was moseying about on that side of the building, Rayne wanted to groom with me. Usually at this point she’ll look around to find the closest box or item to sit on. I was a tad bit surprised when she grabbed the heavy duty giant ball. I was even more surprised when she decided to take the most challenging, yet direct, route to get where I was sitting. Trees. Bamboo bushes. Logs. She pushed right on through!

Annie:

This is how I found Annie in the morning. Enjoying a peaceful Spring morning at the top of her Greenhouse.

Mave:

Mave. What can I say about the lovely Mavis? Actually, I can say this. As I was typing that, we heard whimpering coming from her side of the building. When I walked back there, she wanted a lot of reassurance. I asked her what she saw. She started to walk toward the chute but stopped short of going in. When I pointed to the Chute and asked her if it was out there, she began alarm calling. Caregiver Amanda and I went out and started to look around. And lo and behold, gopher snake! So, thank you, Mave, for making us aware there was an intruder inside the fence!

Lucky:

Lucky is wondering where her dinner is. Truly. This is about 2 minutes before their dinner was rolled out.

Front Rooms of Fun

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If you’ve been following us for long, you may know that the front rooms are a beloved spot for both lounging and activities for the chimps living on Cy’s side of the building. There’s FR 7, which is the perfect spot for spying on the humans doing work in the foyer. FR 6 with a food chute to perch on and keep eyes on happenings in the clinic (if you’re Honey B, it’s also a fun activity to have your caregivers open the door to the clinic for you on command!), and FR 5 which connects to the chute and is slightly larger – meaning more room for activities! When George first arrived and into the initial steps of his introduction to Cy’s group, he was living in the front rooms with access to other areas on different days. Because George was occupying the front rooms, the rest of the chimps not being introduced to him weren’t able to visit the front rooms, until just recently! As the introduction group got larger, George and friends moved into a larger space (the playrooms and greenhouses), giving the rest of the chimps the opportunity to rotate through being in the front rooms. I don’t think anyone is more thrilled about this than Honey B!

In today’s blog video, see how Willy B, Honey B, and Mave are making the most of their time in their beloved front rooms!

Grooming with Cy and George

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Cy and George continue to live together as we move forward with integrating George into Cy’s group. In case you missed it, we have been in the process of day-long introductions with the remaining members of Cy’s group (Gordo, Terry, Rayne, and Lucky have already had theirs) as well as Mave before we continue with building up the group around Cy and George.

In today’s blog video, come along for grooming session with George and Cy!

Terry Grooms George

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Both Terry and George did so well with each other! It’s really interesting to watch George sit still while Terry is grooming him. Generally, chimpanzees reciprocate more readily. He did the same thing when we introduced George to Cy for the first time.

George does groom his human caregivers, so he’s not unfamiliar with it overall – grooming seems to be pretty hardwired in chimpanzees.

It’s hard to say what George is thinking. Maybe he’s playing it safe and making sure he doesn’t send the wrong signal or maybe being groomed by a big male is intimidating.

He’s really doing remarkably well for a 21-year-old chimpanzee who hasn’t had much social experience, and probably no social experience with adult males! Go George Go!