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:
As usual Katelyn’s post gets today’s 10!!! Seems lately everyone’s post is getting a 10! YaY JoJo!!!
Love reading about these darlings your posts make my day
just having some “tears of joy” which happens from time-to-time when i read this blog. i am always rooting for the chimps. way to go, jody – – – and burrito too.
Thank you so much, Katelyn for this just wonderful post!!! Your descriptions are so, well, descriptive!! hahaha and really make me feel like I was there!! Some special people in my life call me Jo Jo as well so I can relate!! Love and hugs to you all……
Way to go Jody…you go girl…..
Like Lisa said above… “tears of joy” while reading this. Love the photos of Jo Jo “dropping in” on the shaky bridge. Sweet Burrito following along looks pretty shaky himself! Very proud of Jody’s big brave adventure on this cold icy morning, making her massive Gold ice slab medal all the more heartwarming! Way to go Jody!!
Jody takes the cake!!!! 🙂 Love to see the chimps playing.
What a clever brave girl. Enjoying life.
Your description (“like living in a bathroom stall”) really puts the perspective on how much life as changed for them all The world must have been very frightening to them all once they came to the Sanctuary.
All of these photographs are beautiful, and a testament to the resiliency of Jody and Burrito’s spirits. Let the evil humans who locked up these beautiful creations in the size of bathroom stalls get their just reward: meanwhile, my friend Jody is going to enjoy some tasty, nutritious ice to munch upon with her neighbors. The fourth photograph from the top is especially heartening to view: Jody is smiling.