Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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introductions

Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself

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The integration of Cy’s group and Willy B’s group in the spring of 2022 resulted in countless benefits to members of each: Willy B finally got to groom with the boys, Mave and Dora became instant and inseparable best friends, Honey B discovered the joys of morning mall-walking with her girl gang, and everyone found new opportunities for comradery and companionship in a larger social group. But it hasn’t been without its challenges.

Or should I say, without one particular challenge:

OK, it’s probably not fair to place all of the group’s instability at the feet of our friend, Willy B, but it’s not too far off. Willy B is a large, dominant chimp with little in the way of social skills. He’s well-tolerated if not always appreciated by the group’s alpha, Cy, and shown proper deference by the lower ranking males. The girls, especially Rayne, go out of their way to accommodate his occasionally idiosyncratic social behavior. He has playmates, grooming partners, and allies. In other words, he’s found a place in a real social group. And most of the time, things are great.

Except when they’re not. That is, when he’s compelled to cause chaos.

Here’s a typical scenario: It’s mid-afternoon and while most of the gang are resting and grooming in the Greenhouse, Willy B is napping by himself in the Front Rooms. He gets up and, as if checking his watch and realizing he is late for his 3:30 appointment, tracks down Terry and begins directing mild but persistent threats his way. Nothing serious, mind you—a pant hoot here, a thump on the glass there—but he knows it will get a reaction out of Terry. This continues until Terry or someone else in the group has had enough of the drama and chases after Willy. And this is when another socially inexperienced chimp would learn his lesson—in the chimp world, there’s nothing like a good pummeling to help you realize that you crossed a line. But instead, it’s where the small but fearless Honey B jumps in the protect her old buddy. And before long, Willy is standing back, watching other chimps screaming and chasing each other around and planning for his next chaos appointment. Which is always coming up shortly.

The precise timing of Willy’s provocations shifts here and there but the overall pattern is unchanging and resistant to any and all distractions. To be clear, Willy hasn’t really hurt anyone (if anyone gets hurt, it’s typically not by him) and the level of serious wounding in this group is pretty normal. But it’s more stress than we’d like to see and, just as importantly, a lot of missed opportunities for play, resting, and grooming without any real trend toward resolution.

After consulting with trusted colleagues, we decided to try a “reintroduction.” As the name implies, a reintroduction involves pulling the group apart and putting them back together again, but in a way that aims to elucidate and then reinforce the hierarchy and to allow bonds to form which may not have had the chance to form during or subsequent to the first introduction. Compared with other potential avenues, such as sub-grouping or moving chimps to another group, reintroduction is a relatively easy and low-risk strategy to mitigate group instability.

We began yesterday by pulling Cy and Willy B from the group and having them live together apart from the remaining seven. During this time, we’re watching for indications of dominance, such as priority access to food and physical displacement, as well as affiliative behaviors like play and grooming. Based on the outcome of this initial dyad, we’ll begin building the group back up. But instead of focusing on ensuring that everyone has allies to protect them from their new, unfamiliar group mates, which is a significant concern during initial intros, we focus on making sure that each individual is forming bonds in a way that conforms to and shows an understanding of the hierarchy. New members are added only after the reintroduction group has met certain benchmarks towards this goal.

In case you are wondering, Cy and Willy have been getting along great. And Cy is still the clear and undisputed alpha, as evidenced just now by his ability to take food right out of Willy’s hand without protest. While we didn’t expect anything different, we all breathed a sigh of relief. We need an adult in charge.

Reintroductions

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We’ve spent a lot of time on this blog discussing group formation, or introductions, so you probably know by now that they are at once the greatest and most terrifying activity you can take part in as a chimpanzee caregiver. While I wouldn’t put them in the same category, reintroductions can be a bit of a roller coaster, too. Reintros occur any time a group is reformed after a period apart. This is commonly due to medical isolation of one or more members but it can also occur if a group is moved to a new facility or if an institution practices fission-fusion management, wherein individuals are routinely moved between groups  (I dislike the use of the term fission-fusion in the captive context but I don’t get to make the rules). Most reintroductions are fairly easy, as the group members have already worked out their relationships. But if a group is separated immediately after a bad conflict for the purpose of treating injuries, they may need to be reintroduced more carefully—even from scratch—lest they immediately pick up where they left off. Whether or not the participants had a chance to reconcile in those cases can make a big difference.

Regardless of the reason for separation, some chimps do not reintro quietly. Males, in particular, seem to fear that everyone forgot who they were while they were gone. REMEMBER ME? THAT’S RIGHT, I AM STILL LARGE AND MAKE LOUD SOUNDS! DO NOT MISTAKE MY ABSENCE FOR WEAKNESS, FOR I HAVE REMAINED STRONG THIS WHOLE TIME AND HAVE COME TO RECLAIM MY POSITION! I pick on the males, of course, but only because their behavior is so familiar. In reality, chimps do sometimes have good reason to fear that the social order changed while they were away and they are right to test the waters when they return.

Willy B has been separated from his group a number of times over the last two years so we felt confident letting him meet the whole group at once, but given his, uh, peculiarities, you can’t help but get a few butterflies as you watch him reestablish himself.

It’s nice to see how the group tolerates him, and even comforts him when he needs it, despite his frequent awkward jerkiness. Willy B remains a special project for CSNW, one that occupies a lot of our collective brain power and dominates the discussion at most every staff meeting. What to do about Willy B? While we’re still searching for the right answer, I’m glad that his group mates are able to extend a little sympathy now and again to a guy that could really use some.

Predictions

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During introductions it was hard tell who Honey B would become friends with. We knew Honey B enjoyed her alone time, but still appreciated the company of her chimp and human friends on her terms. When Honey B first re-met Dora they were both so excited to see each other! However, Terry and Honey B had to put the work into rebuilding a friendship. Recently, Honey B has been hot commodity with her new group. It seems like everyone wants to “mall walk,” groom, play, or just be around her. If we had to predict which chimps would bond with Honey B, Dora and Rayne would really be my only guesses. Lately, we find Honey B and Terry hanging out a lot. We have been seeing some play with her and Cy and even Gordo gets a little quick play session in from time to time.

Words can’t express the feelings I have when watching Honey B build connections with her group. It’s everything they worked so hard for and why a bigger social group is so important for chimps, especially one like Honey B.

Cy grooming Honey B:

Rayne grooming Honey B:

Honey B in the middle of a grooming train:

A series of different Honey B nests:

And one more picture for fun! Can you guess who was wearing this accessory as an anklet?

Look below for the answer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you said Burrito, you would be correct!

 

 

 

 

 

Did you miss me?

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Last September 14th, Willy B sustained an injury to his face that required medical intervention. During all this time he has been in isolation to allow the site to heal properly but also to prevent over grooming on behalf of his friends. Due to the fact that this group is still considered to be newly integrated, putting him back with the group required planning. We had to make sure he would be accepted in the group after spending time away from them. A week and half or so our reintroduction efforts commenced. We started by arranging one on one play dates with Willy B in his isolation rooms, the front rooms. He had play dates with multiple individuals, and even if they were very eager to groom his face wound, Willy B was very good about setting boundaries to protect it. We were ready to move to the next stage.

With help from Jen Feuerstein, staff decided that the course of action was going to be reuniting Cy, Mave, Honey B, Rayne, and Terry with Willy B and see how that went. We did that yesterday and everyone was very happy to be back together. With no negative moments, we decided to move forward with having all nine individuals together today. That meant adding Gordo, Dora, and Lucky to the mix. The nine are back together and to our delight, it has been an overall mellow day and they have spent most of the day grooming in the sun filled green houses. We really love days like today.

Willy B

Gordo
Honey B – She could not be happier to have the front rooms again!
Lucky
Mave
Did you know that Giving Day for Apes is only a few days away? Early giving is open now, but on Tuesday, October 11th we will be competing with other accredited sanctuaries in North America for a variety of prizes. So much has happened at the sanctuary over the last few years and it’s all due to our generous supporters- keep helping us make our residents dreams come true by donating to CSNW! All donations will go directly to the care of our residents.
Donate to CSNW for Giving Day for Apes here: https://www.mightycause.com/organization/Chimpsnw
Learn more about Giving Day for Apes here:

Continued Discussion on Chimpanzee Integrations

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You may remember, several months ago I asked you all if you had additional questions about the integration of the two chimpanzee groups, or integrations in general, for a follow-up discussion I was recording with Jen Feuerstein. I finally put together both parts of the video together, and it’s now public for anyone to view.It’s a long one, but you can skip ahead to the second part if you’ve already seen the first.

We’re always open to answering questions, as you know, so do feel free to ask us anything that we may have left out of the discussion, and we’ll do our best to answer!

Overall, I would just say that for me personally, introductions between chimpanzees is the most stress-inducing thing I’ve voluntarily done. I can’t give enough praise to all of the staff who really made the introductions happen. And to Cy. And, especially, to Jen.

 

What’s Happening

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I know we’ve been uncharacteristically quiet when it comes to the integration of the two Waystation groups. Superstitious or not, none of us want to jinx it! But now that we’ve made it through the first three weeks, I thought I’d take this opportunity to fill you in on just a few of the things that have been happening with this new group.

Who’s the Boss?

One of the biggest questions we all had prior to integrating the two groups was who would maintain the alpha role. Willy B and Cy are both large, powerful males who held comfortable positions as alphas in their previous groups. Their initial one-on-one introductions had us all holding our breath due to the obvious potential for aggression, but they generally got along quite well and the relationship was promising. Once the entire group was together, however, the dynamics became a lot more complicated and neither showed any signs of submitting to the other. Willy B would engage in his characteristically lengthy displays that are seemingly designed to drive everyone crazy – he would find a metal panel or cage door that rattled and he shake it incessantly until everyone else started displaying. While chimpanzee dominance behavior is often viewed through the lens of Machiavellian strategy, Willy B seemed more like someone just bursting with nervous energy and nowhere to direct it. Cy would respond by crashing into the room, bashing on the walls and windows, and stomping his feet on the floor. Throughout the day and all through the evening, they would trade thunderous displays in the playrooms and front rooms, leaving the other boys displaying in their wake and the girls running and screaming. None of us were getting any sleep. Each episode felt like it could be the match that would ignite a larger fire, and though the two would regularly interact in friendlier ways, neither would confront the other directly during times of tension. Until last Sunday.

On Sunday afternoon, Willy B was engaged in one of his protracted displays and the tension was building within the group. Eventually, some smaller conflicts erupted and Cy decided that he’d had enough. He faced off with Willy B in one of the front rooms. Cy was on a bench below Willy B in Front Room 5, and after gradually building up a display he leapt directly at Willy B. Grace and Katelyn were just feet away, garden hose in hand, anxiously hoping that everyone would come away unscathed. As Cy came flying toward the upper bench, Willy B revealed a huge fear grimace and swung around, presenting his back side to Cy. Cy landed on the bench and embraced Willy with both arms. After two weeks of negotiation, Cy had put his foot down and Willy had submitted.

Since then things have seemed a little more orderly within the group. Cy is a patient leader and he doesn’t intervene unless he feels it’s necessary, but if he thinks Willy B is stirring the pot a bit too much, or if Gordo is pushing his luck with Willy B, he has no problem stepping in and quieting everyone down. For his part, Willy B seems a bit relieved to have someone else in charge. Now he can focus all that energy on playing with his new pal, Rayne. And Cy seems relieved to get back to his magazines. We often liken him to a father that tells the kids to play outside so he can read the sports section in peace.

Bosom Buddies

We always knew that Mave would do great in a larger group but we’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well Willy B and Honey B are getting along with their new family. Willy B adores Rayne – I’ve never seen him as expressive as when he is playing with his new pal. And while Honey B tends to be more of a loner in general, she is part of a new clique that Diana has dubbed “the mall walkers”. Each playroom has a second floor catwalk that extends around all four sides of the room and overlooks the main floor below, similar to those fancy indoor malls where people of a certain age do their speed-walking. Each morning, beginning around 7am, Honey B, Dora, and Rayne walk laps around the second floor of each playroom together, often playing but otherwise just getting their steps in.

Eight is Enough

Each morning we serve breakfast in one or more of the greenhouses and playrooms and attempt to close off an area for cleaning. Eight of the chimps happily cooperate. Honey B does not. This isn’t any different than when she lived in her group of three, but early in the introduction process there was a concern that we’d have to reintroduce her each morning if she was separated during cleaning due to her reluctance to shift. Despite the fact that she would have been living happily with the group just hours prior, these reintroductions had the potential to cause tension and hinder the integration process. Thankfully, she has been able to come and go as she pleases without issue, and a couple hours of alone time seems to give her a great deal of comfort.

Family Ties

It can takes months, even years, for two groups to become fully integrated, meaning that they no longer fall back on old, familiar patterns of association. Right now we are seeing two distinct patterns. During the day, the chimps act as though they have always been one big group. Willy B is often at the center of early morning grooming parties on the greenhouse tree structures, Honey B plays and walks laps with Rayne and Dora, and Mave is everywhere at all times doing everything with everyone. But at night, it’s back to three and six. Mave, Honey B, and Willy B make their nests in the front rooms – specifically Front Room 6 – while the others sleep on the catwalks and nesting platforms in the two playrooms. They are all free to sleep where they choose, but for now it seems there’s comfort in sticking with the old gang when it’s time to let your guard down and catch some sleep.

One Day at a Time

When it comes to group formation, there is no point at which we will pat ourselves on the back and declare victory. But whatever happens, I think we can celebrate the introduction process and these first three weeks that they have lived as a full group. Honestly, there have been many days over the last few weeks when the Cle Elum Seven bickered more than the nine. And they’ve lived together for 16 years! Still, chimps will be chimps, and there will be plenty of fights ahead. More importantly, however, there will also be plenty of playing, grooming, reassuring, even mall-walking – all the things we’d dreamed about when we first met Honey B, Willy B, and Mave and imagined them in larger family.

 

Grooming

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It’s impossible to overstate how important grooming is for chimpanzees.

Last Friday we did a reintroduction with Cy, Lucky, Willy B, and Mave. When we begin an intro, we bring the two groups together at the mesh, meaning they are allowed into adjacent rooms separated by a single wall of steel caging. This initial meeting, or “howdy,” allows everyone involved, both chimps and humans, a chance to assess the situation before progressing further. But being separated by mesh also allows the chimps – the males in particular –  an opportunity to show each other what they are made of with little direct consequence. They usually announce their presence by pant hooting, banging the caging, throwing objects, and charging around the room. Their displays are so intense and so powerful that you find yourself saying a little prayer each time that the steel, bullet-proof glass, and concrete will withstand their abuse. As a caregiver you are trying to watch closely and make note of all of their behavior but the sheer volume of their banging and pounding scrambles your brain. These displays, sometimes punctuated by direct physical conflicts at the mesh, can go on for quite a while. Cy and Willy B’s displays took a full thirty minutes to subside.

But eventually something changes. At some point, the males have said everything they had to say, and the desire for companionship overcomes any lingering fear or insecurity. When their raucous displays were through, Willy B approached the mesh and extended an invitation to Cy – a soft breathy-pant and an almost imperceptible head bob. Cy refused to acknowledge Willy B’s gesture at first and continued thumping the back of his hand against the food chute. But Willy B persisted and over the next few minutes Cy’s displays grew quieter. At last, Cy came to the mesh where Willy B was seated and offered Willy B his fingers to be groomed.

Let me just state here that if I were designing chimpanzees from scratch, I would add another behavior or two in between We shall fight to the death! and Let’s place our fingers in each other’s mouths as a sign of trust. But here we are.

It’s at this point in the introduction when you finally allow yourself a brief moment to exhale. And it’s not just a relief for the humans watching from the outside. The other chimps involved, who have been staying out of the way lest they find themselves unwittingly caught up in the mayhem, quickly come to the mesh to meet with their partners. This is our chance! We generally allow the chimps to continue grooming or playing at the mesh until they separate on their own so that we’re sure they’ve had enough time to establish a modicum of trust. Often times they will begin pulling on the door to let the humans know they are ready to be together.

Once we open the door, though, the tension spikes again. It’s one thing to groom at the mesh – sure, no one wants to be bitten on the finger but when you are actually together in the same room the stakes are infinitely higher. Once together, Willy B approached Cy again, this time exaggerating his friendly requests for the sake of clarity. It’s OK, friend, let’s keep grooming! But Cy was anxious. Perhaps it was the fact that Mave was accompanying Willy B this time. After all, beneath all that fluff lies a pretty tough chimp. Cy resisted Willy B’s attempts to groom and anxiously dragged a cardboard box across the floor. Willy B and Mave were both patient and persistent, giving Cy the space he needed while offering him signs of reassurance. Finally, Willy B and Cy found themselves face to face, hair standing on end from both the excitement and terror of the encounter. Cy extended his arm to Willy B and they came together in a full embrace.

When chimps groom in a situation like this, the grooming itself is intense. The sound of the two males panting fills the room. Their teeth clack and their lips smack together. At one point Cy became overly excited and started to scream. As he screamed he gave Willy B an open mouth kiss on the neck – a gesture that is akin to biting but with gentle pressure. My heart stopped. Willy B turned around and Cy embraced him from behind, planting another open mouth kiss on his back. Despite Cy’s excitement, they maintained their embrace, and their trust.

As chimps continue to groom in situations like this you can feel the tension melt away. Their bodies release endorphins and oxytocin. Heart rates drop and muscles begin to relax. It’s OK. We’re OK.

At this point the other chimps in the groom begin grooming or playing if they haven’t already. Lucky tends to hang back and let others come to her. Mave was happy to oblige and the two climbed up on the bench to groom each other’s hands. After twenty minutes of grooming, the boys finally parted from one another and began grooming with the girls.

Eventually, the intro had to come to an end so that the process could eventually continue with other groupings and arrangements. Willy B and Cy had to be bribed with grapes to leave each other’s side.

*****

This morning there was a lot of drama within the group of six. Someone was upset with Terry, and though he probably started it, by the time we could see what was going on he had already entered his How could they do this to me? phase, which involves a lot – a lot! – of screaming. He’s a bit insecure for such a big guy. One unfortunate thing about screamers like Terry is that they unwittingly keep stirring the pot – if he could just calm down and compose himself, the scuffle would be over in no time. But his screaming elicits more fighting, which in turn elicits more screaming, and on and on we go. After about twenty minutes, the group had finally settled their differences  – amazingly, without anyone suffering as much as a scratch.

Not long after the conflict, I glanced at the security monitor and saw Cy and Willy B grooming across the double mesh separating their greenhouse enclosures. It’s a open question at this point how the chimps will relate to one another if and when they reach the point of being fully integrated. Every grouping of chimps results in different dynamics that aren’t always predictive of how the group will be as a whole. And Cy and Willy B are two alpha males that will have to work hard to come to some sort of arrangement and understanding. But as long as they are grooming, there is hope.

 

*Photos above are scenes from an earlier introduction, in case they look familiar!