Today, Burrito was checking out his reflection in a plastic mirror.
Foxie enjoyed some bottled water (we’re still waiting on tests of our well water since it was contaminated during the fire).
Missy and Annie spent some time grooming. Missy likes to groom herself with a tool – in this case she ripped a splinter from a log. If you look closely you can even see some dandruff falling.
Annie likes to pick Missy’s nose. Missy tolerates it but doesn’t seem to enjoy it. I don’t blame her – Annie doesn’t bite her nails down like the other chimps do.
I would say Missy is tolerating those long nails! LOL! Mr. B. is admiring how handsome he is! And I always LOVE to see Foxie!
Glad to see they are all still keeping calm. Love Burrito’s pics. 🙂
A question just came to mind while I was looking at these pictures. Why is it that a chimpanzee’s skin turns darker as they age? What do you think is the purpose for the darker color?
I once saw a documentary about a chimp born in a sanctuary in Africa, and she had white fur and two differently colored eyes, one blue, and one brown. She was beautiful, but I think she had some health issues. She didn’t live long either, and I believe it was another chimp that ended up killing her.
Most of the skin on a chimpanzee’s body is pale, but the parts that are not covered by hair (face, hands, and feet) darken with age. I believe this is because the hair protects the skin from the sun’s radiation, and the hairless parts must be protected by melanin.
This leads us to the question of why chimpanzees aren’t born with darker pigmentation on their face, hands, and feet. I don’t know the answer to this question, but I can only guess that the lighter skin on an infant or juvenile chimpanzee’s body serves to signal their age (youngsters require more care and guidance from the group and the misbehavior is more tolerated) and it may make them easier to track. In other words, there may have been an evolutionary advantage to retaining the light coloration during childhood. Chimpanzees are born with white tufts on their rumps which may serve a similar purpose.
I’ll look into this further and see if I can find a more definitive answer.
It’s hard not to admire yourself in the mirror when you are as handsome as Burrito.
I love those sweet faces on Burrito. He is just the sweetest thing.
I seriously can’t stop laughing about Annie picking Missy’s nose for her. I guess if you’re grooming everything else, the nose might as well be included. Love these chimps so much. Burritos face in that first picture is so cute.
Outstanding photos, JB. Love all of them. Annie’s nails are long, but she means well and wants to take care of her best friend 🙂
Be still my heart……Burrito is Fifty Shades of Handsome!!! lololol
Yea, Burito is a real charmer for sure – a little too much information with the noses…
Yes, I had a little bit of an “ewww” moment with the nose info, but then, we humans are so particular about things! What I’m learning about chimp behavior puts so much into perspective – it is a natural behavior – one that so many of us do privately but wont admit 😉 And it’s interesting, I never noticed Annie’s nails before, and never thought that the short nails on the chimps meant the chimps bit them down.
All I can say about Burrito is, “such a guy.” 🙂
Chimpanzees’ fingernails will also wear down or break from use, but many chimps bite their nails as well.
And yes, chimpanzee behavior is sometimes very similar to ours but without many of our cultural taboos. If you think nose-picking is gross, you should see what we don’t share on the blog 🙂 To me, It’s a clear sign of our similarity to chimpanzees that their behavior can make us uncomfortable.