Day by day, there is enough going on here to keep Bow engaged and interested in things that happen all around us. If there is no actual snake to show up, there are always Leo's zany antics to keep us all amused. Leo is still very much a puppy, though fully grown now. His imagination sometimes creates drama where there is none. For instance, he barks at phantom occupants of an empty garbage bin.
There was nothing in that bin -- I checked! That was on Tuesday. Other things that happened on Tuesday: Bow went into the outer pen, but refused to step on the wet concrete. He has infinite patience and a gymnast's agility -- plus the absolute determination not to get his feet wet.
Eventually, he got on the swing and used it as a platform from which to vocalize.
These are fun things to do, whether or not you have companions of your own kind to keep you company. But in any case, Bow is not alone. I am there with him twelve hours a day, every day, except on my day off, which is usually Wednesday. That's when Lawrence comes in.
Bow enjoys Lawrence's company immensely, but Lawrence does not get to go in with Bow until Bow decides it is all right. Bow sometimes spends as long as fifteen minutes displaying at him, before he calms down and allows Lawrence to go in. Their day together then proceeds along leisurely lines, sometimes playing and wrestling, sometimes grooming, and often just sitting around together as two buddies will, watching the world go by.
Meanwhile, I am off running important errands, such as purchasing bananas at the local grocery store. Yesterday, I bought twice as many of the green bananas there as I usually do, because last week I didn't buy many. Last week I had my day off on a Tuesday, on account of the talk at
the Dent County Historical Society, and the new shipment of bananas always comes on a Wednesday. So even though I dropped by the store on my day off, all that was left were overripe bananas with brown spots.
When the lady at the counter saw how many bananas I was getting yesterday, she asked: "Is Bow having company over?" At first, I thought she meant Lawrence, and I was going to say yes. But then I realized she meant another chimpanzee. She thought I might be getting extra bananas for a guest chimp. I had to admit that alas, no, although it would have been great for Bow to have a guest of his own kind, I was just making up for the week before.
We are surrounded by a beautiful natural setting. The pens are big enough to accommodate two. But though he is not yet acquainted with any other chimpanzees, Bow is not alone. And day by day, life is good.
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