Did Jane Goodall Ever Cry?

I wondered the above, and even though I've read her books, I can't recall reading about tears. Maybe I overlooked it, or maybe someone told her it would be bad science. I wondered this today, as I sat and watched Connie, who is now alone again - "Did Jane Goodall ever cry during an observation?" I had to hold my tears back today. Sometimes, amidst your best efforts things still go wrong and they have. Re-pairing Connie and Spruce didn't go as well as we planned, to say the least, and we had to take him out again. I watched her today, and she almost seemed to be looking for him at the last place he was. I know there is no place for emotion in "science," but my heart is breaking. These aren't just my research subjects I watch every night, they are good friends - and it hurts to see them in such distress. I'm invested, and I care about their well being and happiness. If only they could speak.

Connie (left), and Spruce (right) - before the initial separation.

In brighter news, I saw Retsina play today! :) Which is something I hardly ever see them do, much less the adults. She was drinking water from her faucet and afterwards she'd watch the water drip down to the floor. She did this multiple times, and at one point just went over to the faucet and pressed down. It's like she was trying to understand..."where does the water go?" She'd watch it drip down, she'd stare at the floor, release, look back at the faucet and repeat the process. It made me laugh, and once again feel like I was discovering molten lava for the first time. I feel like that often though. I blame owl monkeys for being so remarkable.

According to Sian, Bob has a theory that they play with their water at night - and after what I saw Retsina do tonight - I'd say he may well be on to something! On that note, thank you Bob, for your spelling corrections to my blog! Sian did finally give them to me today - & I'm very appreciative of you taking the time to care! :)