The chimpanzees’ open-top outdoor enclosure always changes a bit overnight. We do a daily morning check to make sure nothing has dramatically changed (like a broken fence wire) or a stray animal who can’t quite find their way out, but there are inevitably little changes that occur each day. This morning the sanctuary was cool and calm. The chimpanzees were eager to eat their breakfast that was being served in the greenhouse. Then through all the peace, came a noisy rustle in the brush above Young’s Hill. Having already done my perimeter check of the fence line, I knew that our neighbor’s horses were grazing the top pastures and consequently making a bit of commotion. The chimps needed to see the cause of the disturbance for themselves, so upon receiving access to their outdoor enclosure, all of them (minus Negra) raced up the hill to investigate.
Missy had no time to finish her watermelon, so she took it to go:
Jody led the charge to the top of the hill:
After determining that the all that noise wasn’t actually a threat, the chimpanzees relaxed and decided to head back in and resume their meal service.
On her way back to the greenhouse, Jody discovered a real threat:
I couldn’t see what she was looking at, but she hustled away immediately after this photo was taken:
A quick zoom in on the previous photo, shows a swarm of wasps. No Jodys were harmed in the making of this photo!
Oh Jody , I love the look on her face, I swear, that could be right out of a “Curious George” book.
Wasn’t she the one that was stung last month?
I don’t think she wants that again! đŸ™‚
Very cool post Anna, I never thought about what could enter Young’s Hill overnight! Yikes. Young’s Hill may be only two acres, but I swear there may be more is action on the Hill than in my entire town! Whew. Thank goodness Jody got away without getting stung. But this also makes me think, is there more wasp larva to be found by Jamie?!
Always a pleasure to read up on the daily lives of the group. Something always to write about.
Those were really wasps?! They look more like termites. I got stung by a wasp on my middle finger when I was 9. I was kept alive with 7 IVs for 3 days and my eyes were so swollen they couldn’t tell I even had eyes. It was terrifying, so now I have 15 minutes to get medical attention or I could die, so I have to carry an epi-pen. For the longest time I couldn’t even look at a picture of wasps without hyperventilating and having an anxiety attack (not a panic attack). I get nervous just writing about it.
What would y’all do if one of the chimps developed a bee or food allergy? Do you have protocols in place for getting them immediate medical attention against the Anaphylaxis? Cause it isn’t like you can just get to them easily. Or can you just administer the epinephrine via dart?
Cheers.
If they had a serious reaction we could administer epinephrine through a dart if necessary, or more hopefully they would be able to present their arm or leg for an injection.
Sweet! Thanks, Anna.