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Archives for December 2011
Infinity Scarf
Volunteer Connie was telling Jackie and myself about these neat things called “infinity scarves.” They are made out of t-shirts and look pretty fashionable in my opinion. We thought the chimps might enjoy one so we decided to make one out of an old style CSNW shirt. Jackie and Connie took it into the chimp area to stretch it out and see if anyone was interested in playing. To everyone’s shock, Negra was interested in playing a game of tug-o-war. She does not play very often with caregivers, and definitely not for long periods of time. This game went on for infinity! What’s even more interesting is that Negra woke up on the wrong side of the nest today—she was a little grumpy all morning. I’m glad we were able to cheer her up!
Blanket Day
The video below shows Jamie nesting with a bunch of the extra blankets we put out for the enrichment today. Have fun doing laundry tomorrow, Jackie!
Peering in Silhouette
Peering is one of my favorite chimpanzee behaviors. It is related to peering as we commonly understand it (looking intently at something), but it has a more narrow usage with chimpanzees. Chimpanzees often peer when they would like another chimpanzee to share some of their food. Rather than asking for some, they stare at the food as if it is some mysterious substance from outer space, sometimes getting as close as a few inches from the other chimp’s mouth. As a result, the peering chimp annoys the other chimp into either turning away or reluctantly giving up some of their food.
Today, Negra was enjoying a piece of ice from Young’s Hill while Jody peered at her. Peering can go on for an awfully long time, long enough to make me uncomfortable just watching it. I’m not sure whether Negra ever gave Jody a piece of the ice.
Mama Foxie
It’s really hard to say if Foxie would have made a good mother, but one thing is for sure, her babies would be getting lots of fresh air and sunshine these days!
