Volunteers always tell us that watching the chimps enjoy their meals makes them want to eat healthier. Would you try the Chimp Diet? For the Cle Elum Seven, that means mostly whole fruits and vegetables, unprocessed nuts and seeds, and fresh edible weeds like prickly lettuce and dandelions. Oh, and if you’re Negra, the occasional wild frog…
Watch (and listen!) to Negra enjoying her celery, cucumber and sweet potato lunch (don’t worry, no frogs in this video).
Janet Geisel says
I been on a plant base diet now for close to 30 years and enjoy and savor my fruits, vegetables and nuts and morning smoothies. I guess I’m somehow like the chimps. Speaking of love, love, love them. Burrito’s my guy.
Janet Geisel says
Bet they would enjoy peanut butter on that celery. Next time i sit down to dinner i will take cues from the chimp and eat slowly and enjoy my meals. I thank them for that.
Lois says
Hummus on celery is my favorite and healthy too! ??
Carla René says
Hi, Jeeb,
She wasn’t food-squeaking!!!! She has THE best food-squeaks and food-grunts and I was hoping to hear her do more of that in this video. 🙁 Bummer. And natch, when they’re eating, those videos just aren’t long enough.
Querstion: I’ve wondered this for some time now since beginning my minor in primatology.
I know that where language is concerned, the Common Chimpanzees are able to even silently communicate with one another and send signals when a hunt is under way.
I also know that the Pygmy Chimpanzees, or Bonobos, have their own way of communicating, in what seems to be most high-pitched squeals (which get on my nerves a bit) and screams.
My question is, has anyone done research into whether these languages seem to be interchangeable between the two? Do they know if the common chimp can talk to the Bonobos and vice-versa?
Cheers.
J.B. says
Hi Carla – Both chimpanzees and bonobos communicate using vocalizations, facial expressions, and gestures, and researchers have done comparisons between their repertoires and the meanings behind individual signals. Here’s an interesting article from earlier this year: http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2004825
Kathleen says
Oh, oh oh how I enjoyed that video of Negra enjoying that crispy, crunchy stalk!! I had to watch a few times in a row it was so great! Thank you! I am not a big meat eater but I definitely get inspired seeing the chimps eat all the beautiful, fresh, healthy meals you feed them. I dislike cooking so I would really enjoy having your caregivers plan and prepare my meals.
What I truly love most of all is watching the chimps eat, chew, hold, and enjoy every single bite. Besides the standard food grunt/squeaks during meal time, the chimps seem to sit quietly and peacefully, all very polite waiting their turns to be served. They seem to concentrate on every yummy bite, chewing and taking their time. No interactions, no formality, just the joy that come from eating. We humans tend to hurry our meals or converse throughout the process that sometimes I am not sure we ever experience the pure delicious pleasure the chimps feel when eating. Chimps make the food look and sound scrumptious and joyous! I want to eat like a chimp. : )
One silly question J.B. — I see Negra has chomped a bite out of her sweet potato and one of her cucumbers but then she went on to enjoy and finish her celery. Is this because celery is one of her favorites?
J.B. says
Hi Kathleen – That’s a good question. I’ve never considered it to be anyone’s favorite food though they all seem to like it. I’ll have to ask the other caregivers, though, because I don’t serve meals often enough these days to notice changes in their food preferences.
Tobin says
Should Negra ever decide to abdicate her throne as Queen of the CSNW, she could certainly make a career in sound effects. The sound of her crunching her celery was at least as euphonic as that made by Paul McCartney crunching celery on Brian Wilson’s “SMiLE” masterwork. At least it made for a prettier sound than her royal feasting upon an amphibian hopping through the meadows of Young’s Hill.
Sandi Amos-Pitts says
Love this. I also like my salads but need to de-string my celery. Watching her made me hungry for the good stuff.