Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

intelligence

Jamie is not “most chimpanzees”

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This morning, I was sweeping paper and other garbage into a pile in the playroom when Jamie started gesturing towards to me. It’s typical of her to ask for drinks from the hose while we clean but we hadn’t pulled the hose out yet. I soon realized that she was gesturing towards the pile of garbage, and upon closer inspection I saw that I had swept up some torn out and crumpled pages from one of her boot books. She wasn’t done with those yet! I picked them up and she ran excitedly to the day nest she had made in the corner of one of the front rooms. As I handed the pages to her, she emitted a low moan and stuffed them into her pelvic pocket.

Later, while scrubbing the floors, Diana pointed towards Jamie in the front rooms and suggested that I come take a look. She had filled a bucket with water from the lixit fountain, dumped her primate chow into the water, and was stirring the concoction with a plastic tube. She then used to tube to sip the chow water from the bucket and emitted a low moan each time she popped a soaked chow biscuit into her mouth.

She’s definitely her own person. So it should have come as no surprise when Diana caught Jamie taking carrot-peeling matters into her own hands the other day.

Cleaning Up

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Honey B, like many other sanctuary chimpanzees, enjoys cleaning. Last week, we did a “deep clean” of one of her indoor enclosures and spent time scrubbing the track to the door that leads to the upstairs play area. Honey B watched us intently and later decided that the door track needed just a bit more work.

Progress

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Have I told you how much I like Mave?

Today, as I was cleaning, I watched Honey B and Annie start to play. At this point in the process we are thrilled when previously unfamiliar chimps engage in play, but this made my heart stop. Annie is extremely insecure and she has a tendency to overreact at the slightest provocation, real or imagined. Long-time blog readers may remember some early difficulties between Annie and Foxie for just this reason. Honey B, on the other hand, is very confident – so confident, in fact, that she doesn’t bother to think about how others might perceive her actions. Add to the mix the fact that she shows her top teeth when playing and has already gone out of her way to assert her dominance over Annie already and you could see where this was going to end up. The game turned from a slow-motion chase to a raucous tickle fight, and before long Honey B had wrestled Annie into a corner.

We have a policy of not interacting with the chimps during critical periods of the introduction process because the chimps may see us as a source of support when in fact we are of no help at all on the other side of the caging if and when things go south. But as I watched Honey B hover over Annie, I involuntarily whispered, “OK, Honey B, that’s enough,” perhaps hoping that if I just put it out there into the universe it would manifest. And at that moment, Mave walked all the way across the room and wiggled her way between the two without engaging either. Mave plays everything close to the vest, and she made it appear as if she had somewhere to be and was just shuffling though. But I know that she saw the train wreck coming, too.

That kind of social intelligence is invaluable for this group right now. And when it comes wrapped in a such a big, fuzzy package, how can you not fall in love?

OK, enough about Mave (for now).

We saw a lot of progress today. There were fewer arguments and no injuries. And the arguments they did have seemed less related to interpersonal dominance struggles and more to do with overall anxiety and misinterpreted behavior. Just as importantly, we saw a lot of affiliative interactions. Chimps from different families reassured each other during moments of tension. Missy and Annie even spent some time grooming Willy B in the greenhouse.

The girls are both scared of and awed by him and they greet him with elaborate submissive gestures. He has largely avoided them but he is beginning to accept their submission more readily. He even went out of his way to groom Jody this afternoon (until Annie started screaming).

The group has been getting more comfortable at mealtime, which requires them to be in closer proximity with the potential for competition over food, though we definitely bring enough for everyone. Jody seemed pleased to get a spot next to the big man at lunch.

The big man, however, is a little more focused on food right now.

Overall, the new three seem to be incredibly comfortable while Missy, Annie, and to some extent Jody, continue to show signs of anxiety. And that’s understandable – they have been separated from many of the chimps that they have always relied on for support. Missy is always Jamie’s Number 2 and Annie always relies on Missy’s steadiness when things get tough. Now that we’ve tinkered with the group, the dynamics have changed.

But this was done to protect Honey B, Willy B, and Mave and so far it seems like a wise choice. That’s the thing about introductions, though – you can always make a plausible argument for doing it differently. Should chimps meet one-on-one or in groups? Should they first spend time with each other separated by mesh or does that only lead to frustration? Should introductions be done over the course of a week or over six months to a year? Should dominant chimps be integrated first, last, or in the middle? Should overly anxious chimps be medicated to help calm them? How severe does an injury need to be to stop the process? While there is some science to inform our decisions, there are simply too many facility designs and too many chimpanzee personalities in this world to be able to rely on a formula.

So we’ll continue to take this one day at a time and rely on Mave to lead the way.

Lending a Hand

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It’s amazing how much Honey B, Willy B, and Mave have changed since they arrived on Sunday. No matter how much it benefits a chimpanzee to be relocated to a sanctuary like CSNW, it is still a stressful and bewildering experience. A certain amount of anxiety or even fear is understandable until they become familiar with the new environment, a new routine, and new caregivers. But we’re happy to see these three adapting quickly. This morning, as I was donning quarantine gear just outside the door, I could hear playful foot slaps on the floor. When I opened the door, Honey B was jumping up and down with a huge play face and Mave and Willy B were engaged in a pretty exuberant game of chase (who knew Mave could move so fast?). I have no doubt they miss their former caregivers, who love them very much, but for the first time it seemed like they were starting to feel at home here at CSNW. Little do they know there will be a lot more to become familiar with once their quarantine period is complete…

On the other side of the building, the one-and-only Missy was celebrating her 44th birthday! It was a day filled with running around the hill, playing with her best friend Annie, and tomatoes for every meal. A busy day and poor internet connection conspired to prevent me from putting together a second video, but we should be able to share that with you in the days to come.

Jamie’s New Ritual

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Yesterday, Diana and I returned to the sanctuary after a week away. I came up a little early for our afternoon positive reinforcement training session to say hello and was treated to some wonderful greetings by Annie and Negra, who were resting in the playroom. Annie’s was a grand submissive gesture – a series of pant-grunts delivered while bobbing up and down excitedly. Negra’s was gentle and sweet – a long kiss on the back of my hand accompanied by soft breathy pants.

Then Jamie approached. She walked up, slid a book under the caging, and walked away. If it were any other chimpanzee I might been a bit disappointed by her reaction, but I knew exactly what she was saying: No time to talk, let’s walk.

There really is no one else like her.