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Jojo Rabbit

April 12, 2020 by Anthony

Jody has three nicknames that we frequently use when referring to her. “Jo” is the simplest and most common, but “JoJo” is the fun equivalent.

Every time I hear someone say the nickname Jojo, I think of two things. The first association is a song by Blind Pilot (a Portland-based folk band) that tells the story of a homeless man named Jojo. The song is called “The Story I Heard” and has a catchy melody that loops in my head whenever I see Jody’s kind, sweet face. It fits her perfectly.

The second thing that comes to mind, of course, is the Oscar-winning film Jojo Rabbit. (If you haven’t seen it yet, what are you waiting for?) Jody, with her gentle demeanor and love of all things that grow, would make a very fine rabbit. In fact, Jody’s appropriate third nickname is “Farmer Jo” because of how eagerly she harvests food from the chimps’ outdoor habitat. Chimps are not strictly vegetarian by any means, but Jody would be quite happy if all we ever gave her were heaps of green vegetables to munch on.

That brings us to today’s holiday celebration: a feast and forage to celebrate Easter Sunday and the arrival of spring.

The day (which was lovingly sponsored by two amazing and generous supporters) began with the usual breakfast chaos and subsequent socialization. As Diana mentioned in yesterday’s blog, Foxie and Jody were just reunited with the group after receiving some medical attention and are getting back to their normal routines. Meanwhile, Jamie is dealing with a draining abscess but is otherwise acting like her usual self. She seemed to feel a bit better after Missy (“Dr. Missy”) gave her backside some much-needed grooming. After her appointment with Jamie, Missy proceeded to engage Burrito in a playful session of wrestling. Jamie “payed it forward” by giving Jody some T.L.C.

Jamie allows Missy (not shown) to groom her backside
Missy (right) plays with Burrito (left)
Jamie (right) and Jody (left) groom each other

Meanwhile, CSNW co-directors J.B. and Diana spent some time planting this past holiday season’s evergreen trees. They were previously kept in pots after being featured in the Christmas Day celebration and are now taking root amid the bamboo on Young’s Hill. Maybe they’ll survive, and perhaps even grow, if Farmer Jo doesn’t prune off too many of their branches.

Back in the Greenhouse, the chimps could see us scattering food in their outdoor enclosure and got really excited.

Negra (below) excitedly greets Annie (above)

Once all of the caregivers, vehicles and tools were safely out of the enclosure, we were finally able to let the chimpanzees go out and forage for their Easter lunch. Negra led the charge out of the Greenhouse and up the hillside, followed by her six companions. The chimps were ecstatic to find caches of carrots, beets, watermelon slices, chow biscuits, and brand new troll dolls.

Missy (front left), Jamie (right) and Negra (rear left) search for food on the hill
Burrito eats watermelon in the cabin as Jamie approaches
Annie surveys the landscape for more food
Missy tries to out-compete the others (and successfully evades the camera’s auto-focus) by using the firehose vines to get around
Annie climbs to the top of “The Escher” to find the cache of food on top

Chimpanzees have a strong sense of fairness and, without interfering with their social hierarchy, we make sure there is enough food to go around at each meal. Even so, each celebratory forage usually has one chimp who “wins” by collecting the largest amount of the most prized item. As you all may have guessed by now, Jojo Rabbit won today’s Easter forage.

Jody carries her prized carrots as Burrito trails behind

Farmer Jo decided immediately that carrots were the most valuable of all the foods. She sprinted past her companions and began filling her arms with the enormous orange carrots as if she was scooping up rolls of toilet paper at Fred Meyer. Before the others could even figure out what was hidden out there, Jody was making her way back to the Greenhouse with an armful of crunchy loot. The other chimps each found a carrot or two, but Jody had a whole bushel.

Jojo munches on a carrot and gazes out at the other chimps

It’s hard to believe that Jody was the star of the show today after she just had a toe amputated last week. If my description doesn’t quite do it for you and you would prefer to watch today’s Easter forage for yourself, J.B. spontaneously streamed it live on our Facebook page so that all of our supporters could share the experience with us and the chimps. I highly recommend checking it out!

You may also be wondering how things went on the other side of the building. Mave, Willy B and Honey B had an exciting morning. For a short period of time, we opened the chute to their section of Young’s Hill so that they could have the opportunity to go outside. Per usual, they cautiously inspected their outdoor enclosure from the relative safety of the chute, although Honey B did roll a tire down the ramp and out onto the grass. She has developed a weird habit of noisily throwing large enrichment items through doorways, but that’s a story for another day…

Once the chute was closed back up, the three chimps enjoyed a hearty lunch and delicious dinner coupled with quick sessions of positive reinforcement training that allowed caregiver Chad to record their temperatures. It also marked the first time that they appeared interested in eating hard-boiled eggs (collected from locally-raised chickens, of course). Honey B and Willy B are now Easter eggs fanatics, although Mave doesn’t buy into the hype just yet.

Mave presents her forehead so Chad can take her temperature
Honey B devours a hard-boiled Easter egg

Jody may have won the day, but Jamie won the evening. It’s currently after 8pm and Jamie just finished scouring Young’s Hill for the remaining produce. Just a half hour ago, she found a whole beet that was still hidden in the foliage. She finally allowed us to close the door and is settling in for a good night’s sleep, so I’m closing up the Chimp House and heading home.

Jamie searches for food on the hill

Whether you celebrated today’s holiday or not, we hope that you had a great day. Stay healthy, everyone!

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Comments

  1. Debi says

    April 12, 2020 at 11:27 pm

    I just want all of you loving & kindhearted caregivers to know how much your daily blog photos & the accompanying fun stories about your “charges,” fill my head & heart with great joy…Thank you for all your sacrifices & for how hard you tirelessly work to ensure these magnificent chimps (& cows) have such enriched, safe, healthy & secure everyday lives…They sure do deserve it…Hugs to all from Cincinnati…

    • Linda C says

      April 13, 2020 at 3:34 am

      Debi! From MN Debi?! I’ve been worried, since we hadn’t heard from you! Glad you are okay!

  2. Linda C says

    April 13, 2020 at 3:40 am

    oh, I didn’t realize that Jo had lost one of those toes! :l
    I do love her face whenever she returns from the forage-no matter what she has, she is convinced that it is the best, and today she definitely won!
    Neggie being first out of the door is always good to hear.
    Would have loved seeing the live stream, but am not on FB. :(.

  3. Elaine Reininger says

    April 13, 2020 at 5:55 am

    Wow—going home at 8 pm. Long day for you. Last picture is so adorable. The tilted head just got to me.

  4. Kathleen says

    April 13, 2020 at 7:56 am

    Ditto to what Debi said above. Thank you Anthony for your post on every little juicy detail of the day. Great fun reading it. When I hear “JoJo” my mind instantly sings the line from the Beatles song “Get Back” : “Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner, but he knew it couldn’t last…” (now that dates me!) But Jody is a JoJo. The photo where she is crunching on her big carrot made me smile from ear to ear, it’s the light in Jody’s eyes that always gets to me. And the photo of Negra greeting Annie made my heart burst. Jeepers, I love that gal. I bet Jamie knows how lucky she is to be able to stay out past her bedtime to sneak in that one last search for goodies hidden of the hill. That photo of Jame, a wee black speck in the center of Youngs Hill, says it all. Thank you Anthony. Hope you had a lovely evening. Now I am going to travel over to Cle Elum via Facebook to view the big Easter Forage……Happy Springtime to all of you!

    • Kathleen says

      April 13, 2020 at 9:46 am

      Just wanted to send a gigantic THANK YOU to J.B. for his live Easter Forage on Facebook. I am not on FB but I still enjoyed watching the gang after the fact as they explored in the sun, filling up on those healthy fresh veggies. Annie efficiently peeling her big beet was the best. Also found it very interesting to see Honey B in the chute with you walking under it, gave me a better perspective as to how large the chute actually is, I had no idea it was so big, very cool. Thanks again for the live viewing, greatly appreciated every minute and enjoyed watching!

      • Linda says

        April 14, 2020 at 7:11 pm

        even tho I’m not on FB, I was able to watch most of it without the annoying “sign in” box. It did almost feel like being there. Loved Jo’s warning to Burrito not to take her carrot!

        Did Foxie get some gum?

  5. Maureen says

    April 13, 2020 at 12:22 pm

    Anthony, thank you for such a long post, full of details of the day and the chimps, and of so many wonderful pictures. I loved seeing the happy pictures of Negra, sweet lady. And Jody. How I love them all, and how I love you all. Thank you for being who you are.

  6. Louise Manson says

    April 13, 2020 at 1:08 pm

    My granddaughter is named Jordyn and we too call her Jo Jo. She is an actress and 19 years old now. Seeing Jody (Jo Jo) reminds me of my own Jo Jo who I rarely get to see as she is out west and I live in Toronto. We are all “under the dome of Isolation” and I find it so wonderful to see and watch the chimps as their world continues as it shouls. Thanks so much for the recent live footage. Made my day.

  7. Arlene and Michael says

    April 13, 2020 at 3:37 pm

    Chad what an amazing day the Chimps had. That produce was beautiful! So glad that Jojo was able to enjoy herself so much and that her recent setback didn’t slow her down:)
    So thankful that you all had a safe and Happy Easter. Thanks for all that you all do for the Chimps and the bovine.

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