Foxie often plays pretty rough with her dolls, quite different than she would probably treat a real infant. She will throw them, smack them and bite them one minute, and be hugging and grooming them the next. We may never know why Foxie likes certain dolls so much, but we do know that she doesn’t seem to feel any of that same affection for stuffed primate dolls.
Archives for February 2018
A history of Foxie
Today I went waayy back into the blog archives and found this post from Diana about visiting Foxie while she still lived at Buckshire:
“Foxie is a small chimpanzee with a dark, inquisitive face and a somewhat mischievous charm. She was born into captivity in 1976, fated to be used by humans for their purposes. Her caregiver at Buckshire has described her as shy, but everyone from CSNW who has visited her has found her initial shyness to be short-lived.
For the first hour or so during my visit, Foxie remained mostly out-of-view in a corner of a cage farthest from the door. But I could tell she was paying attention to everything and was curiously assessing the situation. I think she felt safer remaining near Negra, who also occupied the farthest of the four small cages. Foxie warmed up to me once I began to give out peanuts. She put her hand behind her to catch the peanuts that I dropped into the food chute of the cage, and she was very pleased that I made a point to return frequently to ensure she got her share.
When I had given out all of the peanuts, Foxie ventured into the next cage, climbed up as high as possible (which is only about six feet), pressed her belly to the caging and looked down. I had a rolled-up newspaper in my hand and I reached up with this and tickled her belly. She was thrilled. She came down to the floor, bobbed her head (a chimpanzee gesture communicating play) and put her belly up to the caging again. For the rest of my visit, she was very active and wanting to play, and I indulged her as much as possible. By the end of the visit, Foxie was sitting in the first cage near her friend Burrito. I am looking forward to seeing Foxie and Burrito romping in the playroom at the sanctuary and I expect she will take advantage of every inch of her much expanded world.”
Foxie’s personality was apparent, even in cramped and extremely stressful living conditions, which is a true testament to her resiliency. Here is where Diana found Foxie almost 10 years ago:
In sanctuary, Foxie’s world has truly expanded, just as Diana knew it would:
The Jody Olympics
Jody is not the most athletic of chimpanzees. During her first years at the sanctuary she wasn’t always interested in traversing the great outdoors unless it was to forage for wild greens to bring back to her nest and she typically preferred to spend her days lounging with abandon, taking it easy. When she did decide to ramp up her activity a bit, our hearts swelled watching her endearing, but awkward attempts at climbing, running, and even brachiating. All run of the mill stuff for chimpanzees. But understandably, after decades spent in a space the size of a bathroom stall, she needed time to rest, recover and heal before the rebuilding could begin.
With the exception of Negra, Jody is also the most cold aversive of the group, so when she ran outside into the lower 20 degree morning today, clearly with her own agenda to explore every place she possibly could, it made my heart sing. While she still may not be the most agile or sure-footed of chimps, her adventurous and courageous spirit more than make up for it and she continues to grow stronger and more confident every day.
There isn’t much snow left on the ground, but with the temperatures staying below freezing what snow there is has pretty much turned to ice. But even that didn’t deter Jody this morning. Not to be outshone by resident athlete, Missy, Jody seemed to have decided to run her own Olympics course, in classic Jo Jo style.
Heading up the icy hill, she opted to utilize the firehose to hang onto as she bravely ventured onto the tundra:
Back down the hill she stopped to see if she could chip off an ice snack:
Her hair is pilo-erect (hair standing on end) due to both the cold and her excitement (notice that happy droopy lip!):
Nice lunge, Jo!
From here she quickly made her way up to the climbing structures to cross the swinging bridges:
I think this was my favorite moment! The structures were covered in ice and as she cautiously made her way across, she started to slide backward here, but she didn’t give up:
She made it! Looking pretty pleased with herself, as she should be:
No time to waste, she cautiously headed back across:
Here is a glimpse of Jody’s self-appointed coach/spotter/stalker, Burrito, who bravely, but reluctantly, followed her into the freezing temps every step of the way:
Making her way back down the hill toward the greenhouse Jody found a huge chunk of ice. A gold medal by her standards:
Do What You Love
Snow was a hot commodity today! Jody was really the only one that went out on Young’s Hill and braved the snow (I know, we were surprised too!), everyone else preferred the snow to be served in the warm and comfortable playroom. Jamie tried to go out on the Hill for a walk, but it was pretty cold out so she turned around. Everyone wanted to play and sometimes they all wanted to play separate games at the same time! There were only two of us and seven of them… Foxie was dropping her dolls down, Missy was running around asking to play chase and wanted us to open the barn doors of course, Burrito was rasberry-ing to play, and Jamie wanted to play chase inside (Jamie would sometimes get Missy or Foxie in on some of the games too). Jamie didn’t want to go out on the Hill so she told staff caregiver Katelyn to put a boot on and play chase with her! Jamie made Katelyn and I play a lot of chase, from the playroom to the greenhouse, back to the playroom, and again and again. Jamie would make these low playful grunting sounds that could just melt your heart. Afterward she would ask for her boots back and hug them tight. I even caught her in a corner of the playroom playing with a stuffed Olaf toy. If you can’t do what you love when the weather is bad why not find something else to substitute!
Jody out venturing the Hill for snow:
Missy
The Healing Touch
Even though the chimpanzees always live together as one group, Negra chooses to spend a lot of her time alone – often curled up in a big comfortable nest with a blanket over her head. She has a favorite spot on the catwalk of the playroom by the windows where she can lay in her nest and still keep an eye on things but remain out of the fray.
When she’s not in her nest, we frequently find her near her mound of blankets, looking out of the window. I see Negra gazing out of the windows in a way that I rarely witness the other chimpanzees doing.
She can spend long periods of time taking in the view that includes the cattle and horses on the neighboring property, the old highway, and the railroad. Negra exudes serenity in these quiet, private moments.
Even us introverts benefit from the company of others, though. Sometimes it helps to have a friend insist that you spend time with them. Missy in particular makes sure that Negra remains part of the social fabric. Missy is the self-appointed doctor of the group, examining every body part and tending to wounds. You might say that Missy has a healing touch.
After years of forced-isolation, the opportunity for Negra to develop long-lasting and trusting relationships with the other chimpanzees is one of the greatest gifts that this sanctuary has given.
The 2018 Winter Chimp-O-Lympics
Anna organized an Olympics-themed party for the chimps this morning. Negra wasn’t sure what to think at first, but once she saw the fancy drinks in coconut-rimmed glasses, she got on board.
We didn’t have quite as much snow as they have in Pyeongchang, but we managed to scrape together enough to fill a sled before it all melted.
Bonus moments of love!
Please enjoy these extra photos from yesterday’s Valentine’s celebration!
Missy:
Jody:
Jamie:
Burrito:
Annie:
