As we’ve said before, Jamie is always up to something. Yesterday during Playroom cleaning, I heard a banging sound coming from one of the front rooms. As I peaked around the corner, I noticed Jamie had dismantled a plastic jack-in-the-box and found a couple of small metal posts. Using a pair of binoculars as a hammer, she was hammering the metal posts into a plastic needlepoint sheet. The girl is always busy!
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Footer
there have recently been two natgeo docs on chimps: one, called ‘chimps: next of kin’ (2010) talks about jill preutz study of chimps in senegal and their use of tools far beyond what was first thought. the other, called ‘chimps on the edge’ (2009) talks about the ‘new’ non-wild chimps, those who have been bred and born in captivity, many of whom are privately owned as pets (like travis). i am sure all of you there at the sanc have seen them.
Love the cowboy boot…she is something else…
This brings up an interesting philosophical question for me: it would seem that Jamie understands the basic premise that something shaped like a needle ought to be able to go through a needlepoint sheet. It seems she also understands the basic premise that a ‘hammer’ helps drive one thing through another thing. What didn’t seem to be crystalizing for her was that hammering against concrete wasn’t going to be effective in getting that needle through the sheet.
So – question: when you see chimps dealing with a quandary like this, where they ‘get’ two-thirds of what’s needed to solve a problem, do you ever help them out by demonstrating the final bit of information they need? Would you, for instance, go get a needlepoint sheet and a big needle and demonstrate for Jamie that she could lift the sheet off the floor and just push the needle through with her hands? Or is that assuming too much about what she had in mind? Or would it maybe be considered “teaching” and therefore interfering in a way that’s inconsistent with the concept of sanctuary?
Oh Jamie……………. a.k.a. Miss Jamie, Jamie Jame, Party Police, The Boss.
What I love about Jamie.
Jamie is a VERY complex individual, you can NEVER know what is on her mind or what she is going to do next. She is one who keeps you on your toes and wondering.
She loves shoes……… the first thing she will do when you walk into an area when she can see you is check out the shoes you are wearing. She really loves cowboy (girl) boots but shoes of all kinds peak her interest. She loves attention and hates when someone else gets attention. She loves whole foods (not the grocer) but loves whole foods of any kind and will usually steal (reacquisition) any whole foods being served to anyone else. I love how she will let Missy and Annie “reacquisition” food but not anyone else is allowed to do so. I love how she likes the stem part of broccoli and not the flower part. I love how she will bite off the root end of green onions and discard them. I love how she likes to hold her own cup of smoothie in the morning. I love that she is not interested in the forage of nuts in the morning and just wants to get to the good part (whole fruits). I love how she likes to have her chow placed on the ledge of the caging so she can enjoy it at the pace she wants. I love how she will make a nest before chow is served (the breakfast in bed thing I guess). I love how she “food moans” when she is served something she really enjoys. I love how she drums on the big barrel to start a display. I love that she rocks the big black tub back and forth to display. I’m impressed that she can throw the big black tub (that I can hardly lift) with one hand to the other end of the pay/day room. I love how she can spit water about 10 feet (or so it seems). I love her perfect posture with strait back and arms. I love that she is very confident and insecure at the same time as the leader of this group. I love that she loves to stay out in the greenhouse while everyone else has bedded down for the night. I love that she likes to just hang out with her caregivers, not doing anything just hanging out. I love how she watches every move her caregivers make (she takes it all in) just in case the moves might come in handy. I love how she is always on the “prowl” to make sure her “family” is doing the right thing or they are safe. I love how the rest of the group is VERY respectful of her and her presence. I love how in the morning after breakfast while the day/play rooms is being cleaned she will nap (with one eye open). I love the she loves to take a drink from the hose while you are cleaning. I love that she will start taking that drink with lips that protrude far past the caging and as the number of drinks increases the shorter her lips protrude from the caging (she wants that darn hose and is just louring you closer and closer in hopes of getting that darn hose). I love how she is the best tool user of the group and actually enjoys a good challenge. I love how she is so very nonchalant about being happy to see you (it’s no big deal). I love that she likes to be on a higher level than her caregivers (she likes to look down on us). I love that she is left handed. I love that during a forage she will “gather” more than her share of food and enjoy every bit of it.
Did I mention I love Jamie Jame…………………….
What comes to mind when I read that Jamie is busy all the time….how in the world did she stay sane when she was in the lab with no stimulation or enrichment to challenge her busy mind? It’s amazing to me that she does not have severe psychological problems. She is one strong girl, both mentally and physically.
Don’t ever get between a girl, a binocular-hammer, a needlepoint sheet and a cowboy boot!! Amazing to watch the wheels turn in Jamie’s head. Amazing girl (chimp) power!!
Great posts today! Loved the video and reading the comments!! Denice, THANK YOU for posting such a lengthy and heart-felt insight to Jamie. I’m going to try to memorize it so the next time I’m volunteering I can think of the things you wrote about and have a deeper appreciation of her (as if many of us don’t already!). Leslie and Anna, thank you for your posts as well.
~julie
Denice, you’re a sweetheart for posting your observations about the chimps, I really enjoy reading them. Does the door, to the outside, remain open at night? Thanks for your comment on my Burrito video.
Theresa, I’ve often wondered how they survived a life in a small cage. I think with Jamie her ability to entertain herself, saved her. I wish someone who knew Jamie and the others, at Buckshire, would tell us about their lives, before sanctuary.
Anna – Those are interesting questions. Chimpanzees are very intelligent but they still make technical and conceptual errors once and a while. But in Jamie’s case, I’m not sure she’s trying to achieve something in particular. Rather, I think she understands basic tool concepts and she enjoys going through the motions. For example, you’ve probably seen photos and videos on the blog of Jamie pouring water from one container to another. When she does that, I don’t think she has a particular goal in mind. Instead, she seems to enjoy the process. We certainly wouldn’t be against demonstrating a skill, especially if learning the skill would be enriching to the chimps. But in this case, Jamie doesn’t seem frustrated, so I don’t think she’s looking for any help.
Candy – This time of year, the door to the greenhouse does stay open overnight.