My research begins unexpectedly.
Of all the mammals in the world, most are diurnal. Meaning they stay awake during the day, and then sleep at night. Some are nocturnal, they are awake at night and asleep during the day. There are even some that are only active during twilight hours, crepuscular. Now I am faced with a new subset of the phylum mammalia, the omniurnal. Awake at all hours except when sleep is absolutely necessary.
....which is whenever I really don't need them to be asleep.
My initial research and background checking on 'Les Enfant' found that they usually take naps in either the late morning or early afternoon. By testing various technique in sleep motivation I hoped to witness their sleep style and patterns. As it turns out the younger female subject, we shall call her "Small One", and the older male "Dash", have different nap timings. Small One prefers late morning and Dash slows down in the early afternoon (if at all). This made it exceedingly difficult to study their sleeping patterns, but afforded me an opportunity to test different methods for putting them to sleep. First I tried stories. They tended to excite 'Les Enfant', especially Dash. Then I thought to wear them out with physical exercise. This worked wonderfully for Dash, but as Small One has not yet developed the ability to run...or walk...or even crawl yet, she remained awake. I was at my wits end. So I looked for outside assistance.
Having no access to any other members of their unique species to research I decided to visit their closest cousins at the Dallas Zoo primate exhibit and facility. It was my hope that upon seeing their close relatives that 'Les Enfant' might be reminded of some of their baser needs and cooperate with my attempts at getting them to sleep. We spent much of the morning and early afternoon communicating with several silverback gorillas, chimpanzees, and just to be sure some robotic dinosaurs as well. You never know what might resonate with 'Les Enfant'.
The gorillas were quite helpful, showing how to relax and lounge about. Dash especially was taking note and seemed to be responding to some of the gorilla's behavior. That was until the largest male began charging the bullet proof glass at random intervals. Dash then felt it was necessary to run to each part of the park we were visiting next.
The chimps were much more helpful, simply laying about among the trees. But even this backfired and both of 'Les Enfant' thought this to be too boring and so we left.
Even the robotic dinosaurs (a last ditch effort) offered no aide in draining the bottomless energy of the wild Cliff Dwellers. It seemed all my work was for naught until an unexpected ally came to my rescue.
For most species there is a point during the day that outside activity is so unbearable that they must hide until later in the afternoon or evening before continuing any type of physical labor. This is due to the extreme heat caused by the sun. Ah, that big, beautiful ball of burning gas. It is a beacon of exhaustion that can conquer any animal on the planet, even those with a seemingly endless supply of energy and strength. Within an hour they were wilted. Another half an hour later they were pleading to go home. Actually, they didn't want to ever leave, but their eyes were definitely pleading for home.
And so we came back home victorious in our attempt at sleep. Though my research has only begun I believe I can say that I have my first real breakthrough. I still must earn their trust, but for now I can rest easy knowing that they....are resting easy.
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