Chips is Chindy’s first infant and was born in November 2017. Nowadays, Chindy lives far up North of the Suaq study area, so we get to see Chips very rarely.

Chips’ mom Chindy has grown up being very close with her aunt Lilly: they are almost the same age and during their childhood, their mothers Cissy and Lisa spent long periods of time in close association. Lilly is 1 -2 years older than Chindy and gave birth to her first baby Luther about 18 months before Chips was born. When Chindy became a mother herself, she would visit her childhood friend. We would see Chindy dropping off baby Chips with Lilly and then go feed on her own. This was remarkable because Chips was barely at an age where he could be away from his mother. Lilly would make a nest where Chips was totally safe. It almost seemed as if Lilly had realized – maybe based on her own experiences- that because Chindy was a first-time mother to a young baby, she was exhausted and needed some time to recharge. The mothers would take turns with who would stay in the nest with the kids and who would go off to feed.

All of this happened to the great delight of Chips and Luther who loved to play with each other in the nests. However, being older, Luther pulled many stunts that Chips could not keep up with. Luther repeatedly tried to lure Chips out of the nest by tempting him to follow him or even by trying to pull him out. Even though Chips seemed very intrigued, this was always immediately interrupted by their watchful mothers. Luther eventually became more gentle and adjusted to Chips skill levels.

Chips still has a lot to learn. He still spends most of his time on his mother’s body, but soon he will spend more time off, exploring his surroundings. We hope that we will get to see more of Chips soon.