Sweet Jamie resting on the barrel you may say, and you wouldn’t be wrong. Jamie was so exhausted from her morning activities. You may be wondering what Jamie was up to. That is a great question! Jamie was in a great mood today and though you might be in a great mood, sometimes you still have to pelt poop to keep order. While the front rooms were being cleaned by our amazing volunteers, Jamie also made sure they stayed in line. After 15 minutes of on and off poop throwing at our kind and patient volunteers, Jamie was so tired. She found a comfortable spot on a barrel and stared at the new expansion through the caging. The chimps are so curious of the new area, they can’t get enough of it. Jamie and others often ask for games of chase from the new area to the playroom, meaning the caregiver runs from the Playroom, through the kitchen, down the hallway, into the new area, and than back! Of course not right then because she had already over exerted herself.
Jamie being irresistible on a barrel in the Playroom:
I went around to the other side to get another perspective of Jamie, she looks almost angelic:
Later, once cleaning was done and Jamie had rested we all went on a walk/sprint (A LOT) with Jamie on this beautiful day outside:
CeeCee says
Oh Jamie, is it because she’s such a stinker that I love her so?
Or is it that angel side that your amazing pictures capture.
I think its the Angel/Devil thing….She does it well.
Mark says
Do you come up with any reinforcements or attempts to train them to not throw poop?
I’m sure it has to be a trying time to do your job while getting poop thrown at you. You also I am sure have to be very patient!
Kelsi says
Hi Mark! That is a good question that I am sure many have wondered. Jamie throws poop as a way of having power or control, which is something we donβt want to take away from her. As unpleasant as it is for us humans, we feel good knowing that she feels comfortable in a place where she can express herself.
Kathleen says
Oh Jamie, you are one of the most brilliant and beautiful people I have had the pleasure to meet but I will confess, I did fear your famous poop toss! And I honestly believe I could have been a recipient had it not been for the diligent cleaning efforts of your caregivers and volunteers (removing the ammunition changes the playing field). Whew. Your genius, beauty, curiosity, intelligence, and sheer magnificence is all that hit me, and it hit me hard. One just needs to read Diana’s insight from her post yesterday to know why you do this poop tossing thingy. I know your life before sanctuary was not in your control. I can only imagine how hard that must have been for someone like you. And you do look very angelic. This is how I think of you, dear, engaging, communicative, gorgeous, athletic, engaging, and exceptionally intelligent and sometimes…angelic. Best of all, I think of you having autonomy in your lovely sanctuary home (a thought that gives me hope). It’s what you deserve. I hope someday you find your peace and discover there is little need to ‘toss’ because everyone around you loves you so.
Linda says
Bless you, Kelsi…….to be able to entitle this post “Sweet, sweet Jamie” after that much poop tossing means you have reached Level Chimp in Forgiveness! “Sweet” is never what comes to mind when I think of Jamie……..smart, yes, creative, yes, domineering, yes, but “sweet”…….I tend to picture Neggie or Annie when that word comes to mind.
So here’s a question…..we’ve usually just seen Jamie flinging (though Annie spits water creatively :)). Do the others do this regularly, too, or just the Boss?
Kelsi says
Hi Linda! Yes, Jamie is all of those too π Jamie is the only one at the CSNW that throws poop. However, we have other like Burrito or Jody who may choose to spit.
Tobin says
Doesn’t Foxie spit water at her human attendants for amusement? I would consider it an honor to be doused
Linda says
Thanks, Kelsi! Must be part of defending her territory…..When it comes to water, I remember one video you posted, where I admired Annie’s technique for spitting water on the humans….Rock forward toward the cage bars, spit, rock back. Rock forward, spit, rock back. Loved that she made her own little “style”! π
I’ve often thought that you guys do such an amazing job of describing things, using photos, video, and your words…but every now and then, I find myself thinking……..”Jeez, I wonder what it must smell like?” π
Tobin says
Hmm?… And just how might Dr. Freud interpret Jamie’s dexterity in fomenting “Code Brown” alerts? Ziggy speculated (he thought that he had scientific proof, but, in fact…) that very young human primates (the lowest form of life) “offer” their feces as a “gift” of sorts to their parents vis-a-vis toilet-training (that humans are obliged to be trained thus is but one of multitude of proofs that we are the Colossal Mistake of Evolution; no other species comes close). All of which posits the question: perhaps Jamie is trying to be, well, amusing in her projectile volleys of excrescence. Or, perhaps, given her inexhaustible curiosity, she was conducting a physics experiment of sorts. Or, perhaps, she was communicating her demand that her living quarters be cleaned to her exacting specifications.
Or, just maybe, she was suggesting with her demonstration that her flinging of bacteria-laden post-digestive by-product might make for a useful PSA regarding the question “Do primates make good pets? (see post from 8.13.2017). Ah, the possibilites are endless…
Tobin says
Also, while I/we are discussing this fascinating (if scatalogical) topic, do the chimpanzees have a certain area (either indoors or al fresco) where they choose to eliminate their wastes? I know that it is absolutely none of my business, but, since I’ve always wondered where the human primates went to the bathroom at Woodstock, man, I think that my inquiry is fair to ask. My last trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo, the morons (a/k/a homo sapiens) in attendance at the African Ape residence went “nanners” when a gorilla relieved her bladder from a high elevation. I was so embarrassed: not for the gorilla, but through guilt-by-association to be seen in a crowd of (mostly) hairless, bipedal apes.