We were so excited to have our friends from Poppoff, Inc. here this morning pouring the floors to our new addition! Here’s a video of the chimps, uh, helping out and otherwise keeping an eye on their progress đŸ™‚ A million thanks to our friends, Kery and Terran, for donating the drone we used to capture a lot of this footage.
meg lunnum says
Do you mow the paths? And, can you use the fire suppression sprinklers to keep the perimeters green and damp just in case? Thanks.
J.B. says
Hi Meg – Yes, we mow paths around the perimeter and a few through the middle of the enclosure. But the narrow ones that you see winding through the bamboo and climbing structures are ones that the chimps made themselves. We don’t have enough water to irrigate the entire perimeter of Young’s Hill so we focus on the area around the building where the chimps would shelter during a wildfire.
lisa says
this footage is truly, truly amazing. thank you so much. way to go, Jamie . . . throwing your enrichment (smile). question: do any of the wonderful caregivers and volunteers sleep at the sanctuary each night just in case one of them / they should need you?
J.B. says
Hi Lisa – Diana and I (the Co-Directors) live on site, just a few hundred feet from the chimp house. But we aren’t needed very often. The only times we check directly with the chimps overnight is when someone is sick or on an unusual medication schedule.
Kathleen says
WOW! Thank you Kery and Terran for the drone, simply amazing footage! Looks so beautiful and Jamie seems so very small at the end surrounded by the natural world around her. Simply breathtaking, thanks so much.
And thank you J.B. for this video, now I have much better idea as to what is going where (whew, the garden has been spared). The original door to the kitchen look so lonely. I didn’t consider the sheer thrill for Jamie being surrounded by people in work boots either, crack me up! Happy to see Jamie only tossed a book and two enrichment tubes, whew, that could have been a lot worse. ? The hard working men in boots got off easy. Image what their conversations were like when they got home and sat down with their families around the dinner table ….. “You’ll never guess who supervised our job site today….” Let’s face it, not many people can say seven chimpanzees kept a tight eye on their work day.
Couldn’t be happier for you all.
Carla René says
Hi, Jeeb!
FINALLY! IT’S REALLY HAPPENING! Ehrmaguud, I’m so excited I could spit. I’ve been waiting for this since reading your expansion ideas nearly 4 years ago, and now it’s actually happening! The day y’all ship in those first babies I am just going to be uncontainable!
After reading your comment about Jamie, the first thought that flashed through my head was of Jamie, sitting next to the perimetre fence, her tiny plastic bucket and shovel in hand, happily shoveling dirt along as she watched workers shoveling dirt.
And what perimetre walk would be complete without its very own goofball?! Go, Mr. Burrito-toes. <3 <3 <3
You said patrolling doesn't make them anxious, but I think it's fair to say that at 0:55" when Burrito was involved in that hug (I couldn't tell if he was on the giving or receiving end), that *can* be an indicator that they might be less secure than usual, from what I understand, yes? I've seen other chimps (well, even these guys now that I think about it), seek reassurance through hugs from other troop members, along with a wide, full, toothy grin when they're anxious, usually if the group is in a fight and they've chosen sides. Is that the defining factor, that grin? What I mean is, if the hugs are accompanied by the grin, does that mean it's a reassurance hug from anxiety, and if it's sans grin, then it's simply one of excitement? Or is that even a real thing?
As usual, I truly appreciate your patience in humouring me as I endeavour to learn this. Y'all are simply the best, and I can't wait to actually visit one day! There *will* be a day when I donate and present to you one of my paintings in person, so get ready! Ha!
Cheers.
J.B. says
Hi Carla – Yes, in that clip Burrito is showing signs of anxiety, though it’s not because of the construction. Burrito has been getting himself into a lot of trouble lately with the girls and the chimps all seem to have a fear of getting into a fight outdoors. This is somewhat counterintuitive, because they would have a lot more room to avoid each other outdoors, but they seem to prefer to fight inside where everything is more familiar. So when they are together in a group outside, either for foraging or patrolling, and there is tension from a recent fight, it puts Burrito (and others) on edge. Usually, after a few minutes of getting down to business eating or walking, they all settle down.
In that clip, Burrito strolls by ahead of Jody, who is followed by Foxie. Foxie speeds up to give Jody a little hug while Burrito does his bipedal anxiety dance ahead of them. Once that was all out of the way they proceeded to go on a patrol together.
The toothy grin, pilo erection, and bipedal swagger are all signs of fear or excitement.
Carla René says
Hello,
First, I’m srry I’m just now getting to this. It appears that the “notify me of new posts by e-mail” option just doesn’t work for me. I’ve checked and re-checked my spam folder and there’s just nothing to indicate that anyone replies to my posts. Otherwise, I would have responded sooner.
Thanks for the explanation of what was actually happening in the video. I knew that the wide grin was an anxiety indicator, but didn’t know exactly how it fit into the hugging dynamic. But what I didn’t know was the difference between the anxiety hugs and the excitement hugs. You’ve cleared that up for me.
Oh–any idea as to an approximate timeline for when the babies will arrive? I’m sure it’s in terms of years, but was just wondering if you had any update on that. I know you don’t have definite babies chosen, just that you want to incorporate any that may be available.
Thank-you, as always!
J.B. says
We don’t have a timeline for accepting new chimps at this point, but we’re going to keeping working hard on the expansion so that we can be ready when we are needed.
Carla René says
Srry–just one more thing.
I was re-reading your comment about where they choose to fight. I know there’s no way of knowing for sure, but I’m just wondering if maybe they choose to fight inside where things are contained for fear of “losing” one of the group members outside, where they can make a quick getaway and where others have less control over that.
What I mean is, all families fight. We all say and do things in anger that for an outsider, might look like we’d all mow each other down if given the right weaponry and enough cash. But at the heart of it, we fight because we *do* love deeply, and we wouldn’t know what to do if they weren’t there. The uncertainty in the events of their past may have sent them signals that at any moment, one of them could simply disappear without warning, and with all of the babies being taken away, it might be plausible. My mum had agorophobia (fear of open spaces) for 17 years of her life, and I’ve had recent anxiety attacks and panic attacks, so completely understand this counter-intuitive idea.
I dunno, but maybe in their weird way, keeping everyone together is their strange way of ensuring that at the end of the most horrific, bitter fight, everyone will still be there when they go to sleep.
It’s certainly an interesting discussion topic.
~~C
Leslie Sodaro says
while i am not a big lover of drones, or should i say when they are misused, i LOVE this view of the sanctuary and it’s residents, those who you all serve . and i laughed out loud at the heaving of enrichment onto the newly smoothed concrete. just in case someone new to the place doesn’t know who the boss *really* is!
Lucinda says
The use of the drone is awesome. An aerial view really gives a sense of the scope of the sanctuary. I think the workers are having a unique experience – having their work boots checked out by Jamie – priceless.
louise Manson says
Oh that was wonderful footage giving me a better idea of how the sanctuary is laid out. I am originally from B.C. now living in Ontario. Seeing the terrain there is so much like home for me. It was also good to see the chimps on patrol watching their interaction with each other and their “assistance” with the cement being poured. I was just so delighted to see it all. Thank you so much for your filming. Sr. Louise
Katie T. says
Thank you for the drone video! It’s a wonderful perspective to show the sanctuary. I’ve been using it to “show and tell” CSNW to friends!
Elizabeth Thomas says
Was lovely to see the view from the drone of the chimps outside area and the wonderful view they look out onto
Merle R says
Like TV but with no commercials.
Jane Olinger says
They are laying a new sidewalk across from my building. I have been tempted to follow Jamie’s example and throw “enrichments” onto the wet concrete from my window. However, since the other building is my local police station, I have chosen to refrain.
Janet Geisel says
The workmen might have to hide their tools or one morning when they come in they might find Jamie building her own structure being built when she’s alone.