It is important to be flexible during the introduction process. For example, it has been a while since Cy and Willy B had some one on one time with each other. They have been dying to get some alone time together, but it isn’t always up to the shifting person. Some days you get a Gordo who just waltz into a room, not quite realizing what he might have signed himself up for, but I mean it’s Gordo so you have take the opportunity! Or like today you get a Lucky who simply won’t leave the front rooms. My goal as lead today was to get a “bro date” set up for them. I had it almost all set up, Willy B was alone in the Mezzanine, but I need to get Cy alone in the front rooms. Atlas, with all my best efforts I did not win the shifting battle! There is nothing wrong with Lucky not leaving, it just means a change in plans. So we went up to the Mezzanine to see if anyone would join Willy B for a quad! Honey B politely obliged! We have done this quad before, but it is important to build strong relationships, so repeats of the same intros are just fine! Make sure your volume is on for the video. There is a lot of grooming noises or what we like to call “teeth clacking”!
Willy B
A yummy group favorite!
Sunday Energy
Today felt colder than it was last week, but that didn’t stop Burrito from running out onto Young’s Hill as soon as they had access! During the warmer weather Burrito is usually ready to start running around the hill when his group gets access in the mornings. Today he had that same energy and sprinted out and stuck to the snow path that leads to one of the structures. I didn’t have the camera with me at the time to take any photos, but later in the day Chad was playing chase with Burrito so I followed them. Burrito kept making his way out onto the hill after running around the Greenhouse. Right now the human paths around the Greenhouse are icy in some spots so we are slower (at least I am) on our end of the chase. That doesn’t stop Burrito though! It just means he has to wait a little longer for me to catch up.
Burrito wasn’t the only one in a playful mood today. Mave was all for some playful stomps and mini games of chase. I wasn’t able to get a photo of her from today, but this one is from a couple weeks ago.
It can sometimes be hard to get a photo of Burrito in this spot because he usually wants to play chase. This morning I was able to get a couple quick photos before he was running through the front rooms!
Burrito on Young’s Hill.
Photos from what some others were up to today.
Negra took some of her lunch back up to her nest to enjoy it. I need to start taking notes because this is an excellent idea.
Dora in the Greenhouse once the sun came out this afternoon.
Photos of Rayne in the Greenhouse from this morning until afternoon nap time.
Cy was resting next to Rayne.
Willy B after breakfast.
Photo Salad
This blog is filled with some random photos from the chimp house today!
Do you ever feel like someone is watching you? I definitely had the feeling this afternoon and saw Honey B keeping her eye on me from behind the bamboo.
She’s always watching.
Willy B taking an after lunch rest.
Dora hanging out in the Greenhouse.
Gordo finishing the rest of his lunch.
Cy took his reading material out to the Greenhouse.
I tried all day to get a photo of one of the chimpanzees in Negra’s group. I finally got one of Missy all bundled up in her nest.
Let it snow?
No, just kidding don’t let it snow anymore. At least right now! I grew up in Ohio so I’m used to snow, but this much snow? Not so much. Living in the Georgia mountains the past couple years I kept saying how much I missed being around snow. I think I just got more snow than what I asked for. At least it’s beautiful to look at and the chimpanzees are still enjoying all of their snow snacks.
Like the blog yesterday (What Now?) mentioned, the chimpanzees are making good use of their Greenhouses! The heaters are keeping them pretty warm and the sun was out for most of the day, so it was a good day to be out there. Here are some photos from how the chimpanzees spent their time in the Greenhouses.
Annie seemed very comfortable in her nest.
Missy on the move!
On the other side of the building Cy was looking very majestic in the Greenhouse.
Of course Lucky was too.
Rayne was peering down at me from the mesh above. This square is here so we can see while we operate a door between the Greenhouses.
In the other Greenhouse Willy B was hard at work on the hanging Frisbee puzzles his group got as enrichment for the afternoon.
While most others were in the Greenhouses, Honey B and I were playing a game of chase. She kept stopping by this window because normally we would run outside of the building and meet her there.
This is what the outside of the window looks like today!
Bonus photo from today: Rayne in a box!
The Eve of the Eve
Holiday preparations continue as caregiver elves now take on the challenge of wrapping at record pace all the toys that were so nicely donated by our amazing supporters. For the chimps today is just a normal day. Willy B, Honey B and Mave got some hanging puzzles as enrichment this morning to encourage foraging behaviors. Willy B was all about it!
Here’s two sequences of Willy B getting going nuts about nuts!
Sequence #1
Goal achieved
Sequence #2
Goal achieved
Willy B about to catch an almond as it falls
Mave was also very excited about nuts
The Unlikely Meetup
This week is an intro week and I spent a lot of the day trying to get Dora alone so she could spend time with Honey B’s group. However, Dora is really hard to get alone. To make Dora a little more comfortable we decided to try to do a quad with all girls. Rayne kindly stayed with Dora and I think Willy B had a good laugh when I thought I could get just the girls. With all my best efforts Willy B decided he could not be left out. So today’s meet up was Honey B, Willy B, Rayne, and Dora. This intro made us all a little nervous, Willy B isn’t always the best at giving the girls the reassurance they might need and Dora is still a wild card for us. We had decided that we would just stick to the mesh unless there were a lot of positive behaviors at the mesh. Well, right off the bat they were breathy panting, grooming, reassuring each other, giving kisses, and playing through the mesh. We had to open the door, so we held our breath and we let them in together. Overall, it went really well! Near the end Dora and Willy B had a miscommunication, which led us to separating them. As you will see in the video Willy B was having a blast with Rayne and Dora! What you all might not know is that Willy B and Dora have met a few times and they were non-eventual, but today Willy B really learned how Dora wanted to play! At first he was overwhelming her, so he backed off and waited for her to come to him. To see how far Dora and Willy B have come is really spectacular. Though it didn’t end on the highest note there was a lot to take away from this intro!
Also Rayne is the best at introductions! She is so good at making the other chimps feel at ease, she gives reassurance when needed, and distracts others by instigating play instead of screaming when they are nervous. She is one of a kind.





























































