One of my favorite things so far about Young’s Hill is watching Missy run at full speed. She is like a spring that was coiled up for decades, just waiting to be released. Every time she goes outside, she runs up and down the hill, for no apparent reason other than for the joy of it.
I was surprised by how moved I was when I first noticed that I could actually hear her running…the sound of her hands and feet pounding the ground and her heavy, rhythmic breathing with each stride.
We were talking today about how it seems like Missy is eager for the other chimps to become as comfortable as she is on the hill so that she will have someone to play with out there. Many of the other chimps are still in the cautious exploration stage, but not Missy. She waited 36 years for a chance to run, and now she’s ready for the most epic game of chase ever.
So beautiful. I love that lady.
So inspiring and wonderful to hear about the chimps progress on Young’s Hill!
Diana — What a gorgeous post! Thank you!!
Oops — sorry — thank you, JB!! 🙂
What a wonderful, touching post – both for the joy of seeing Missy run with such abandon and to read the love of the caregivers so evident in their words here. Thank you for sharing with us!
Many thanks, J.B. Love the photos and your commentary. She is in her element, but how sad she had to wait so long. It says a lot about these wonderful chimps how they encourage each other and love to interact in so many ways.
I love the first picture, you can tell she’s running at full throttle. J.B., you and the others are such good observers and are able to articulate to us what you feel and see. I particularly like your statement that, “she runs up and down the hill, for no apparent reason other than for the joy of it. It’s nice to know that the chimps have found “joy” and it gives me a warm feeling inside that they have found it.
MORE tears of joy…….thanks, J.B.!! Missy’s and Negra’s inked images that I got at the first auction stare down at me as I type and I think Missy is smiling a bit more!!
Missy had no “getting use to the Hill” she was at full speed from the first day. She just loves to run at full speen up and then down the hill. I kept hearing this noise from her and have decided after the last 6 weeks she is just running so hard that he is breathing heavy with each step or lope. But then it might be she is so happy she is doing a chimp laugh. Today she tried so hard to engage Foxie in play, grabbig Foxie’s back feet as she walked, taking Foxie’s troll and trying to tickle her. Foxie was having no part of this and Missy went back to running up the hill and then down the hill with a few stops to climb a sturcture or swing in a hammock. At one point she start to cross the fire hose bridge at full speed and slipped and one back leg went up in the sky as she tried to gain her ballance. I thought for a moment she was going to fall to the ground but she was able to continue on without any hesitation. There is no better enrichment for humans (or this human) to watch the “7” on the hill.
I love watching the recovery of the chimps. The PTSD they suffer from and the steps they take to enjoy the basic elements in life they were starved from is the best we can do for them. They are all different..yet the same..just like humans. I wish them the best retirement in the world. They are beautiful.
wonderful, wonderful … WONDERFUL!
I wanna see Missy running… can you get a video of her doing that so we can share in her joy?
I close my eyes and can hear her running. It makes me so happy.
ditto, ditto, ditto! Much thanks for this post, J.B. You can see the look of determination on her face that she’s making up for sooo much lost time of hers! It is so bittersweet that in all they have been through, I don’t think that they harbor ill feelings towards their human captors like we probably would and that they have brought out such compassion and love in the rest of us! And, yes, you are right, she is running, just for the pure joy of it! 🙂
video and audio please??? how about a Missy Running montage? would LOVE that!