Follow up

Again one hour left, so just quickly continuing the last one...

Actually as for the changes it`s not that bad, as I first thought. I almost got into the routine already, actually less things to remember ( in terms of what to give to whom, and how much, otherwise everything is written down, so it`s enough if you know where to look it up), but maybe more work, because of Arvid (the paralized chimp) and because we are only two. On the other hand there is a full time vet nurse, a Cameroonian guy, Elvis, he has arrived a month ago, but he is a big help, even if most of the times I don`t understand his English... Actually he has the same responsabilities as us, exept, that he is payed for his job:)

So for the former volunteers:
there is noone working in fruit room, so it`s a volunteer responsability. at the big cages assou, julien and emma is still there (although julien is leaving as always:). tati`s group has now a big enclosure next to ballas, and they are with coffee. and then kiki`s group has a big extension too, but you`ve probably seen that. the nursery is one big cage, and two enclosures, so the 24 chimps there are divided into two groups: tic`s group and charlo`s group (these chimps I didn`t know before). there is a new worker working with them, bertrand, he is here only 3 weeks, but seems he enjoys it a lot.
The chimps:
The big cages: Njabeya (the one that was born here) is already 4, she is doing amazingly good, she has learnt her way with all the adult chimps, although, it must be boring for her not to have anyone in her age, and I would even say she is too mature for her age. Bouboule is the dominant male now, I haven`t seen him too much "doing his job", he seemed quite calm to me actually. I think Gabby has changed the most, he has a completely dark face now, but still resembles himself.

In Ballas` group I wouldn`t recognize Aaron anymore, he is big now, as a normal adult, and actually yesterday we saw him challaging Ballas, and believe me or not, Ballas was heavily crying afterwards... Jessica supported Ballas, the rest stayed away, but probabely it will happen more and more. Otherwise he is the same with me as he was, wants to kiss my lips all the time, and is very gentle. In Kiki`s group the babies have grown too, especially Massamba and Jack, but they are still babies to me. Kiki is not willing to go out anymore, but apparently it`s because they are wild chimps all around, and the workers saw a big male around Kiki`s cage a few times, so maybe he is afraid. But every night we are waken up by wild chimps screems, and ours reply to them, so it`s quite busy at nights:)

In the nursary, wow, Tic and Mintak, I would never recognize them, they are just big males already. Zac and Muna are with them in a group, they didn`t grow that much, or maybe I don`t see the difference, because comparing to Tic and Mintak they are still small. And it`s starnge to see, that Zac, who was so self confident with Muna and Yoko, is now one of the weakest, and a few days ago I saw him desperately crying because Jantan stole his sleeping place. I just couldn`t believe. Grem is more or less the same, he doesn`t care too much, Baati is just as we thought, he would be, and Sambe is still nice and gentle.

Every day there is a volunteer, who needs to stay with Arvid and an other one who needs to stay with the babies at Sheri`s house at lunch time, so actually you get to be with the babies very often. And it is just so great, I really think sometimes, that chimp babies are much more fun than human babies, obviously, they are more independent and they locomotor abilities develop much faster. So act6ually the even not one yrs old Margot already climbs the trees very hight, and plays with the other babies, although it`s funny, that when it comes to walking she is much less skilled. But they are constantly in payfull mode, and it`s so funny how they do that, maybe because they have a 10 x higher pain thereshold, so they play more roughly, but than it also allows them to do more bravourous things.

Arvid gives me hard time for now, he bit me already a few times (one huge tatto on my forearm) apparantly he is not nice to new ppl. He is shaking his head when he needs to go to the bathroom, or when he is annoyed, and he is just doing it constantly when I`m with him. He only stops for a few minutes when I start to tickle him, or give him food, or try to play with him, but then he starts again, and it is just so heartbreaking, because you can really see on his feace how frustrated and desperate he is, and I just don`t know what to do. I have to learn him better, we have to get used to each other. A few times I`ve already made him lough out, but it doesn`t help. Henriett is with him normally, and there are 2 new woman caregivers for him and the babies, and it`s so amazing to see them how they are with them. Of caurse it`s a really hard job, common, already beeing with a paralized person, not everyone can do that, and then a chimp... is even harder, it doesn`t speak, it bites really hard, and it gets bored after a few minutes... But they are great with him, he is so happy to see them, and they really now him, how to make him laugh, when to ease him so on and so on. And to think that these ppl really don`t grow up with the same attitude towards animals as us. And than the greatest thing is that they call chimps people when they talk about them:) how graet is that. And how great that you can change someone`s attitude just by having him observing the chimps.

I have to go again, so to be continued...