Everywhere I look I see apes, and I don’t simply mean hairy folks with low IQ’s. On the work front, I have been living and breathing Chimps since arriving in New Zealand. For those unaware of the situation, two of the Chimps from Adelaide Zoo coincidentally arrived at Hamilton Zoo the same week I did. It has been years in the planning, and an example of how life continuously weaves a magic tapestry. So, just when these two females think they have seen the last of me and heard their last Aussie accent, there I was when they pooped out of their boxes on the other side of the Tasman. Shock? Horror? Disbelief? Disappointment? Well, it was actually reassuring and comforting for them and very importantly me, to have familiar face to bond with in this new country. Since then, there was a 30 day quarantine period (for the chimps, not me) with intensive contact and interaction, followed by a process of introducing them to the existing troop of 6 chimps. For the uninitiated, Chimps are not all cute and cuddly like the Chimps in old movies or Disney films. They can be viscous, manipulative, cognitive killers just waiting and watching to cement their place in the world by asserting dominance over others. Of course, they can also be hilarious, peaceful and loving animals, given the right social mix and stimulating environment. So, at the moment, we started off with the former and we are aiming for the latter. As the chimps begin to mix and match their personalities and preferences within the group the dynamics will change. The tension will develop and unfold to create a stable and respected social hierarchy, which will keep everyone (including the keepers), happy. Along the way there has been blood, tears and lots of screaming, and that was just from me. The chimps all have a assortment of wounds of numerous descriptions and some are playing mind games with others, testing who is to be feared, who can they persuade to be on their side, who will make the strongest team when it comes to defending themselves against the bully boys and so on. It’s a complicated process of matching personalities and strengths with others and guessing the top twenty possible outcomes and being prepared with a plan B, plan C and plan D for every possible one. The screaming is blood chilling and not something you’d want to experience without warning, then their physical strength is astounding as they throw each other from elevated platforms and their speed is blinding as they bounce of the walls like spider man. It’s all too much for a soft head like me.

As a result, I dream of chimps, or sometimes Orang-utans, almost every night. They are usually escaping out of their exhibit and I am typically the only person around to get them back in. Last night however, I dreamt of taking a bunch of Orang-utans to see a movie?!? I took them home early because they needed to go to the toilet and they didn’t know how to use the public ones in the cinema. OK, someone analyse me quick and sort this head out.

Life is an opportunity and not an obligation.