It’s impossible to overstate just how much power Jamie has over the staff and volunteers at CSNW. Sometimes, as I walk up the driveway to the chimp house in the morning, I find myself saying a silent prayer to the chimp gods that she is in a good mood. And if she isn’t, I pray that her attention will be directed at someone other than me.
But the chimp gods don’t seem to hear me, because this is the face that often greets us.
Or worse, this:
This is when you know it’s going to be a long day.
My love and admiration for Jamie is limitless. She is brilliant and creative and brave. But she also possesses a thirst for power and control unlike anyone I have ever known.
In the normal course of life at the sanctuary, Jamie and I sometimes find ourselves disagreeing about what should be done. I think Foxie should be given a banana, Jamie does not. I think I should open the chimps’ door to the greenhouse, Jamie does not. I think I should be able to stand at the sink and quietly scrub the chimps’ toys, Jamie does not.
When Jamie disagrees, she makes sure she is understood. In fights with the other chimps, she usually wins simply by screaming louder and longer than anyone else, but she’s not afraid to get physical if need be. She makes her opinion known to her caregivers with a mouthful of water or a handful of feces. And let me tell you, I don’t care how strongly you believe in doing something…flying feces always has a way of making you reconsider.
This particular character trait is not something I would look for in a human friend (especially the feces throwing). But with Jamie, it makes me admire her even more. How on earth did someone so in need of control and power, so determined to be respected by humans and chimps alike, ever survive life in the laboratory?
There needs to be a chimp equivalent to the word “dehumanizing,” because that’s what life was for her. You could see it in her eyes when we first met her in the lab.
And if you couldn’t see it in her eyes, surely you couldn’t miss it tattooed across her chest.
When the chimps first came to the sanctuary, I was so excited. But I can barely look at those photos of her now. She looks so powerless.
I always wonder what the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees would be like if they had lived in the wild. If they had been raised by their mothers. If they had raised their own children. How much of the chimpanzees we know and love would we recognize?
I have a feeling Jamie would still have been a force to be reckoned with. I think it’s in her bones. But she would have been able to play by chimpanzee rules in a chimpanzee society, without ever knowing the indignity and humiliation of life in captivity.
To us, sanctuary is all about finding what each individual chimpanzee needs to be happy. And for Jamie, that’s easy…total and absolute power.
So if being grumpy makes her happy, that’s cool with us.
Erin Johnson says
Well said. Thank you J.B.
Tatu Wagdog says
I am so utterly invested in CSNW, undoubtedly addressing it and dealing with it in some way every day, that I rarely take the time to read the website or the blog. But it’s a rainy Friday and I just clicked this one. I’m flooded with more emotion than the showers outside my window. J.B., your inside-their-hearts-and-heads words are so compelling they make me cry. And the pictures of the Seven before, of just when they came, are as crushing as a ton of granite. And I just have to think of the staff and volunteers at the sanctuary, living each day with the love and painful knowledge of what exists in the hearts and minds and memories of the Seven (and so many others), and I thank Dog that you do what you do, and I know without a doubt for me that your work is the highest calling. And I thank you all every day for your care and companionship to them. Given the world they are in, you are giving them the best world they could have.
nicki says
<3 Chimpanzees are amazing.I am blessed because I live between two Sanctuaries. I adopted one chimp at one of the sanctuarie.Meaning I give money and send gifts for birthdays and holidays. I almost died a few months back. I found my calling, I want to go back to school and major in wild life/ animals behavioral science. Blessings and Strength too you!
Amy M says
Wow, JB, another powerful post (appropriately on the subject of power). This reminds me of Diana’s haunting post some time ago in which she said Jamie seems to be the only one of the 7 to realize she’s in captivity —
https://chimpsnw.org/2013/01/captivity/
What a face! I don’t think we’ve ever seen pictures of Jamie’s out-of-sorts face. How would you say Jamie’s mood fall out — is she often in a bad mood?
J.B. says
Thanks, Amy. There are days when Jamie is in a bad mood from start to finish, but usually she gets it out of her system by lunchtime. There are a lot of factors that play into this. Burrito, being a guy, likes to start his day with a display, and this often sets off a commotion that ends up upsetting Jamie – which she takes out on us. And there are new staff members and volunteers each day, or at least folks that haven’t been to the chimp house in a few days, so Jamie probably feels she needs to remind people where things stand. We once tried to track her aggressive behavior to see if it showed any seasonal or hormonal patterns, and there was no clear trend. But she does go on streaks – if she was targeting you the day before, odds are she will be after you the next day as well.
But then there are days when you open the door and Jamie is on the floor in a tickle match with Foxie. Or you walk in the door wearing a pair of her favorite boots, and she takes one look and then goes lumbering in her funny way to the door to go on a walk around the hill. Or she gestures frantically because she wants to groom you.
And I should say that just because Jamie is giving her caregivers a hard time doesn’t mean that she is upset all day. She could be having a blast playing with the other chimps, and then she’ll take a quick break to throw feces at someone 🙂 Burrito is the same way – he’ll tear the chimp house apart and cause a big fight, and then minutes later he is breathy-panting and stomping his feet because he wants to play chase. Chimps seem to feel emotions with every ounce of their being, but they don’t get locked into those emotions the way the we often do.
Amy M says
Fascinating, JB, thanks. Are Missy, Foxie and/or Annie ever in bad moods? Does someone like Annie even get to be in a bad mood? And do they display?
J.B. says
Missy can be in a bad mood from time to time. She usually doesn’t take it out on humans. Instead, she’ll skip a meal and stay in the playroom, displaying by herself. Or she’ll take it out on Annie by stealing her food. I wouldn’t say that Foxie is ever in a bad mood, but she doesn’t take to all new people right away, so some folks get to see her feistier side. And I believe that Annie is constitutionally incapable of being in a bad mood.
d. says
I often think about captivity and confinement for animals and how wrong it is.
just the thought kills me. you can see that it’s torture for them to say the least. and if you can’t see it then there’s something wrong with you. Don’t know how she survived the hell of being confined and her every move manipulated. she is stronger and braver than most.
Jamie and the Gang are very lucky to be where they are now.
nicki says
Blessings and strength to CSNW. Please email me about donating for a visit this summer. I left Diane a message. Peace!
Mary C Otterness says
I adore Genius Jamie, with her moods, nonetheless, and her absolute brilliance~
Denice says
I had to chuckle at the comment J.B. made about walking up the driveway and wondering what kind of mood Jamie will be in that day. I would venture that everyone who has walked those steps and knows Jamie has wondered the same thing, it will certainly effect everyone that day. You can usually tell within minutes of the Chimp House door opening how the day is going to go. As much as I hate being the recipient of her bad mood I am thankfull she is able to control her enviroment and her caregivers.
P.S. I always bring a change of clothes to work.
Linda Goodwin says
So very well said, J.B.
Karen B says
“So if being grumpy makes her happy, that’s cool with us.” – the best and most caring response possible! Thanks, J.B. for seeing the silver lining…
Carlene G. says
Maybe Jamie has too many memories of her lab days. And when it is morning or quiet time she has to much time to remember old times, good and bad. Would explain her grumpiness, and wanting to be in control. . She still thrives to be in the wild on her own. Very good article, thanks for sharing.
Chris says
Thank-you J.B. for another very thoughtful and insightful post as you know them better than anyone and yes, those photos of Jamie in the lab are very hard to look at. Do you think her behavior could be the equivilent of PTSD in humans? I know that’s a pretty simple explanation and maybe there really isn’t an explanation that any of us would ever understand. After all, they move in a different world than we do and we can’t possibly begin to understand all that they really feel or know. Other than, they have many of the same emotions, stresses, basic needs as humans, as is clearly evidenced in those haunting eyes. I’ve seen the faces in photos of people in concentration camps, and other horrors and the look is the same.
As someone else said..your work with them is of the highest calling and seeing what they look like now, you must know that you have accomplished more in your few years with them than most people accomplish in a lifetime of compassion. Hope all this makes sense. We are forever indebted to you and all the other caregivers at the Sanctuary for what you have given back to the magnificent Seven……
J.B. says
Hi Chris,
I think you can trace a lot of the chimps’ behavior back to the traumas they experienced earlier in life – being stolen from their mothers, being locked in small cages, being darted, and so on. I think some of it might be genetic, too. I bet Jamie would be a bossy-pants no matter what. But I think the most important thing to consider is this: Shouldn’t this behavior be considered normal? If I were locked up against my will for 35 years, I would hope that I would have enough spirit left to fight back once and a while. Sometimes you hear about certain chimps as being difficult or having behavioral issues, but aren’t they acting in a way that we would find inspiring and noble if they were unjustly imprisoned humans? It can be so frustrating caring for Jamie sometimes, but when I see her “act up”, I see an indomitable spirit, a proud person who refuses to give in to the limits placed on her freedom.
And by the way, thank you very much for the kind words! But don’t forget that Jamie would not have a home without you and everyone else that supports CSNW. These seven chimps have a very large family…
Benjamin Pavsner says
I think I remember seeing Negra losing her composure once or twice.
Kathleen says
Oh my, not sure how to explain how this post makes me feel. JB, you should write a book about the chimps – your insight, compassion, and experience always places the reader directly in the center of it all. So personal and touching. Seeing Jamie when she first arrived brought tears to my eyes and I have seen that photo numerous times before. But now, seeing it in a new context I feel a pang deep in my heart. And the first photo, look at Jamie’s determination and strength. Sigh.
I can not truly begin to comprehend what these chimps must feel, think and remember, but I know one thing, they do feel, think and remember. I volunteer for an outstanding shelter who takes in dogs often pulled from very dire situations. I have witnessed first hand that some “scars” stay with these dogs for life. That is not say their future lives are “damaged”. These dogs get adopted and live with families that love them and some go on to be agility champs, service dogs, and more. But like people, their past experiences stay with them. If dogs remember, chimps must remember too.
I think about the length of time these chimps suffered. Decades of suffering can not be pushed aside even by the strongest or the bravest. Sorrow floats (says author John Irving). If I were Jamie, I would scream. To be so smart, to be so aware, to have your life stolen from you, how do you cope with it all? What are you supposed to feel? How do you deal with your old fears and your new found freedoms? Thanks to CSNW Jamie can express herself and be heard. She is healthy, she has friends, she has power. She is safe. Best of all Jamie is loved.
I know you always mention Jamie’s moods but I see her as intelligent (loves a challenge), funny (with her boots), and I see her leadership (walking the hill and being “in change”) but until now I never really understood her moods. I never considered the angry Jamie. I can’t imagine any of the chimps “angry”. This post was so enlightening. I respect Jamie’s power.
Chris says
Oh yes, I absolutely think that their behavior is a direct result from those terrible, traumatic events in their lives. That’s what I meant when I said it’s probably similiar to PTSD in humans. And being such unique individuals, they all had different coping mechanisms or as you say have all “acted out” differently depending on their personalities. Jamie being the indomitable spirit that she is, never lost that power of control, even though it was squashed for many years…it was always there!
You are much more eloquent in words to help us understand a little about them and of course, you live with them, so you see and know things about them we can never know but again….the stars were aligned just right to bring you and the Magnificent Seven together and their very large family is so grateful for that!
Wanda Trotta says
You always have a way with words, JB, to instill your feeling about these 7 in those of us who go to the website first thing every day. You have the ability to make it real to the people who don’t experience the wonder of the 7 every day.
Thanks for that,
W
kerri says
I am fascinated by this post, actually all of them that help us understand chimp behavior.
I remember Diana saying something along the lines of Jamie being strong willed during visits to the lab, PS (Pre Sanctuary). Do you remember how or when Jamie let you all know she was in charge?