Before I get to the brief content of this blog post, I have a question for you, or, rather I have a request for your questions.
Several months ago, I recorded a conversation with Jen Feuerstein about integrating groups of chimpanzees with one another. Before that conversation, I invited blog readers to submit your questions for Jen. Then I made that recording available for a small donation.
I am going to be talking with Jen again in just a few days so that I can follow up with her now that she helped us make the final leap in putting the two groups of chimpanzees together. The group of nine has been together for just over a month, so the timing seems right.
Once again, I am inviting you to submit your questions about the integration process and now also post-integration considerations, worries, and expectations.
Your questions can be general to captive chimpanzees or specific to the integration that we just did. My thought is to add the follow-up conversation to the original video and make the whole thing more widely available for anyone who is interested in watching it (perhaps with a donation suggestion but available for free).
Let me know what you think, and write your questions in the comments to this blog post or send them to me by email at [email protected]. Thank you!!
On to today’s musings:
We’ve written about nightbags before. They are the post-dinner packaged treat that we give the chimpanzees. I’ve never met a chimp who didn’t like them.
It’s more than just the food at this point, though.
It’s the ritual.
The crinkling of the paper as your caregiver twists the bag to hand it to you though the mesh.
The cracking open of the bag (however you might choose to get into the contents of your bag – some break the twisted bag in half, others carefully unroll it, open the bag, and reach in).
The immediate gratification of staying right where you are to partake or taking your bag and going to your favorite spot, away from everyone else.
The spreading out on a surface, then sorting with your fingers or lips, or just shaking the contents and pouring the seeds, peanuts, popcorn, and dried fruit right into your mouth (your individual method has been honed to your personal preference over the years).
The finding someone else’s nightbag spot and picking through the leftovers to see if there are any surprise shells with seeds still contained.
All of it is so satisfying.
Just ask Annie:
Or Foxie:
