Chimps Ahoy

The day started off with much brainstorming and reflection on how the introductions had gone so far. To recap, we have one group of mixed chimps and two groups of unmixed chimps. We could keep going by adding individuals to the mixed groups, but that could have resulted in anxiety in the separated groups as their numbers dwindled and all the higher-ranking chimps departed. Without the democracy of their leaders, the remaining chimps could have gotten out of hand – like unsupervised teenagers.

Missed the earlier entries? Start here. Eight chimps are happily living in a mixed group now– Lindsey, Roxy, Kyrstin, Tabby, Luke, Kirk, Armond, and Greg! Our next goal was to get Rocko added in. The chimps had other ideas. Rocko was not sure about coming into the mix. All five of the remaining males were…

With our now united group of 6 chimps (Lindsey, Roxy, Kyrstin, Luke, Kirk, and Greg), it was time to bring in the enforcer, Armond. Armond is, well, the bouncer, the tough guy, the one you don’t want to mess with. It was important to get him into the mix and accepted by the small group of females before we add any more.

Luke hasn’t had enough of the females yet – he wanted a lot more! As the chimps learn what we are up to with the intros, some volunteer to participate and others skedaddle out of the area, content to be last if possible. Luke very firmly insisted that he was going to be at the head of the pack. Our alpha, Captain Kirk, decided to join him.

During howdies, high-ranking female Lindsey wanted to make sure that high-ranking male Luke understood that she was the boss so she tossed some, well, a really nasty handful of debris, at him through the mesh. Luke decided that he couldn’t let that pass but chose a bit of a milder approach and just gave her a good stream of spit.

Cute freckle faced Neal is the youngest chimp in this group of boys – and therefore the most likely to want to play with new friends. As anticipated, he was a bit rowdy when the girls moved into Chimps Ahoy.

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…