northwest

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!