Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Things have been changing at chimps, and I’m not entirely certain if it’s something that I’m just noticing because I’ve been here for a few weeks, or because things are really shifting around over here.

Angela's eight teeth

For one, Angela is growing.  Obviously that was going to happen, but I’ve never had a chance to watch a chimp grow up before, and she’s so adorably human-like that I can’t help but compare her progress to that of a human baby.  At three months old now she has eight teeth (or did the last time I took a photo), all of which are just erupting from her gumline.  She is also focusing on things now, instead of just looking around or past them.  With this new-found proper eyesight, she has become fascinated by the colourful fruits and vegetables that Mwanzo eats and is often reaching for them, although she never eats any of the food that she manages to touch.  Ajabu has moved from jealousy or disinterest in the baby to intense desire of the baby, and can often be seen trying to pull Angela from her mother’s back.  She hasn’t yet succeeded as Mwanzo always holds Angela close during these attempts, but I am sure she will soon.

Angela, Mwanzo, and Sultana

Angela has also been trying to move around on her own a lot more, standing up when her mother is lying down and crawling away from her ventrum while she’s awake.  More of the chimps have been allowed to touch her, and while I’m not sure if Angela enjoys their attentions, the other chimps certainly appreciate being able to touch the precious baby.  Fortunately for Ajabu, this hasn’t seemed to detract from her popularity (well, except with Mwanzo), and she is still carried around by nearly anyone she wants.

Ajabu and Victoria playing

Ajabu has discovered a newfound power: the power of her mother and grandmother.  Since I’ve been at Sweetwaters I’ve seen Ajabu play with almost every member of the old chimps group, and sometimes when she’s playing with the big males things can get pretty rough.  Despite this I’ve never heard her vocalize other than the panting laughter that chimps make during play, and if things get too rough for her she usually just runs over to Mwanzo or Sultana for comfort.  The other day she was playing with George when George got a bit overzealous, and instead of just running away from him I heard Ajabu make a scream-threat at him.  Sultana was there in an instant and both she and Mwanzo proceeded to chase George for about ten seconds, while Ajabu followed.  I don’t think George or Ajabu truly understood what had happened, because as soon as Sultana and Mwanzo ended their chase Ajabu resumed playing with George.  George, in his annoyance, immediately slapped Ajabu which resulted in more threat-screams, and George was chased once again.

Ajabu not being a big girl and riding on Cheetah's back

In addition to discovering her maternal support, Ajabu has also been walking around more lately.  The other day she walked all the way from the night house to the platform, about half a kilometer, all by herself.  She started out walking following her mother and after she was rejected from her mother’s back a couple of times tried Edward.  She walked with one hand slung over Edward’s back for a few strides and then grabbed on and clambered up so she was riding on him, but after a few metres Edward pitched one of his hips down and slid Ajabu off.  She tried this again a couple of times, and each time ended with Edward rejecting her. I’ve never actually seen Edward carry Ajabu before, so I’m not sure if she just made a poor choice of mount or if he decided that she’s old enough and heavy enough to be walking on her own.  She walked the rest of the way quite happily though, no tantrums to be seen or heard, and happily chomped on peanuts after arriving at the platform.

 Shamefully, this is one of my only pictures of Jane or Joy.  Joy hates it whenever I get the camera out and point it at her, and Jane likes to tease me by throwing avocado seeds at me to send me running for the hills.

 On the other side of the river, I’ve been noticing some changes with Jane and Joy.  Jane is the youngest girl in the group, having been fostered onto Akela when she was two and a half, and has always been an independent youngster (or so I am told).  Her main playmate is Joy who is only a year older than Jane, and the two of them spend almost all their time together.  I have noticed recently that Joy seems to be putting some distance between them, whether intentionally or inadvertently I am not sure.  Joy’s mother is Tess, the fattest and laziest chimp in all of Sweetwaters, and I have noticed that Joy is starting to take after her more and more.  When the other chimps in the young group are napping post-lunch, Jane is often rolling around in the grass playing with herself or some toy she has found.  Joy used to join her for part of that playtime, but now she seems to be hanging back with the other chimps and napping instead.  And when Joy and Jane would usually be found climbing trees together and shaking the branches happily, I am now seeing just Jane in the upper reaches of the murera (yellow fever trees) while Joy sits below with her mother and friends.

 Joy still joins Jane in some of her playing, but it seems to me that the closeness that I saw between them earlier in the summer is dwindling.  Jane is still firmly rooted in childhood, and from what I know of her personality may stay a playful, mischievous chimp forever, but Joy seems to be moving towards a more adult activity budget: a little less play and a little more grooming.

As for myself, I no longer despise birding.  I’m actually having a lot of fun identifying and taking photos of all the cute birds I find in the walkway.  I’m not sure I’ll ever share John Wingfield’s passion and pass over seals for birds, but at least the colourful ones I think are pretty all-right for now.  I’ve also noticed that I am building my stamina for observations.  When I first got to Kenya, a day that lasted from 8-2 was really long for me, by 12:30 I was staring at my watch wondering when I would get to go home.  Now 2 PM rolls around and I usually stick around for a while longer, either to chat with the guys or collect more data.  It’s good to know that I can last more than six hours out there, but it does mean reapplying my sunscreen, which you all know I despise.