Boy Meets Girl – Entry #1

Maverick seems to be a real Casanova. But he picked the most unlikely female to woo, in my opinion.

Maverick has come a long way since his arrival at Project Chimps last fall. He had a bit of trouble accepting fellow male chimp Justin and needed Kirk (the alpha), Armond (the enforcer) and the sensible and mature Greg to figure things out. He’s steady now.

Anna on the other hand was originally thought to be the alpha of the separate female group. She’s just strong and stubborn, but not the leader. That turned out to be Lindsey. When we invited the females to move across the North Yard of the Peachtree Habitat to live side by side with males, she simply didn’t want to go.

All the other female chimps moved into Chimps Ahoy…but Anna slept in the yard.

And again on a second night.

And again for a third night. Finally the other female chimps went out to get her and as a group, brought her inside where she’s adjusted to living next to males.

Maverick apparently admired this stubborn characteristic trait from afar. They both seemed to have a connection at first sight. When Anna finally entered the bedroom space and could see the males (through a shared wall) she went straight to the small hole mesh and greeted him. He in turn panted at her and put his belly to the mesh to greet her.

This introduction method is referred to as a “howdy”. With a safety barrier in place that restricts the chimps in either group from physically touching, they can get a mere inch away from each other to chat, smell, see, and interact allowing the care team to access who is interested in meeting each other – and who is not. As howdies progress, the chimps with high interest will be allowed into spaces where they can physically touch and eventually where they can share rooms together.

It seems Maverick and Anna are going to be at the top of the list to start with! I can’t wait to see what happens next between them.