Chimpanzee Wiggles

By Holly Soubiea, Chimpanzee Caregiver Supervisor

One of my best friends at Project Chimps is a chimpanzee named Harriett. I first met Harriett during a long drive from Louisiana to Georgia, a drive in which Harriett and nine other chimpanzees were being transferred from the New Iberia Research Center to permanent sanctuary at Project Chimps.

Getting to know Harriett

Throughout the trip, our transport team repeatedly stopped to make sure the chimps were okay. We gave them food and checked in to see how they were doing. During one of the first stops, Harriett saw me and made a beautiful chimpanzee “play-face” from her individual transport carrier. Next, she began head-nodding at me – another affiliative behavior.

This was a pleasant surprise, because the 12-hour transport can be very stressful for chimpanzees coming from research settings. So I head-nodded back to her and we played like this for a minute, bobbing up and down. Throughout the trip, whenever we would check on the chimps, Harriett would “ask” me to play and, of course, I happily obliged.

Harriett gets a nickname

As I have gotten to know Harriett, I have affectionately nicknamed her, “Wiggles.” Like most humans, chimps do not usually have control over the muscles in their ears. Harriett, however, is special. She can wiggle her ears and frequently chooses to do so. When she concentrates on something, her ears wiggle back and forth. When she is in a playful mood, her ears pin back (instead of sticking out). You can tell Harriett’s mood simply by watching her ears and I love that about her. I also call her Wiggles because, when she gets excited, her entire body wiggles. She sways back and forth whenever she comes over to say “hello” or to play.

The chase is on!

Harriett is always full of energy and loves to play “chase” with caregivers from her side of the mesh in her large group villa. She always starts the game with a body wiggle and then runs away, inviting us to chase her. We run back and forth on our side of the mesh, to her delight. When she really gets into the game of chase, she starts laughing (one of my favorite chimpanzee sounds). Chimp laughter is similar to human laughter, but more of a breathy pant.

Bust a move

Harriett also loves when people dance for her. When a former intern danced for her (flossed, actually), Harriett head-nodded along with delight.

A few weeks ago, the facilities crew was working next to her chimpanzee villa. Harriett sat in the window and watched them intently. When I told them that she loves it when people dance for her, they busted a few moves and she LOVED it. They made her day just by wiggling their bodies for a few moments.

Harriett goes outdoors

Back in December, her social group was given access to Project Chimps forested, 6-acre Peachtree Habitat for the very first time. All of her groupmates ventured outdoors that day, but Harriett was hesitant to come out, unsure of the grass. She carefully tested the ground before tentatively stepping foot outside. After that scary day, Harriett chose not go outside again until early June, when she finally built up the courage and ventured back into the habitat for the first time in six months. Harriett was still uncertain about her surroundings and was analyzing everything around her but, gradually, she became more confident.

Into the woods…

Now Harriett goes outside whenever possible, though she stays close to her best friend Betty, who always has her back. The other caregivers and I love seeing them exploring the habitat together, going a little farther into the forest each time.

Watch the video to see Harriett happily wiggling in sanctuary.

Photos by Crystal Alba.