This morning I witnessed one of those odd scenes which always makes me love the chimpanzees and their choices in sanctuary life just a little bit more. Please forgive me as I didn’t get proper photographic evidence to share here.
Anthony and I were midway through cleaning the playroom when we spotted Foxie playing with her dolls and doing little flips in the window. Just behind her on the greenhouse deck was Annie, wearing a bright orange headband around her waist and Burrito with a checkered plaid blanket “scarf” draped across his shoulders. Enter Jamie, with a leftover radish she found (somewhere??) accompanied by a stick of bamboo she had broken into her own “knife.” Jamie set about stabbing her radish down the middle repeatedly to cut it in half before she ate it, just because she could.
This brief morning moment reinforces how different all the chimpanzees are and how they each have such particular interests. Dolls, blanket scarves, headbands and homemade stick knives, we certainly have an interesting group of individuals living here at the sanctuary. The best part is, ALL chimps have different likes/dislikes and certain special quirks about them. Just think of Honey B, who arrived here only August of last year. As she has settled in, we’ve seen her enjoy building massive paper nests, eating fistfuls of popcorn and scooting around on her own wheeled toys– to name only a few of her passions. Honey B positively defines the word quirky.
I think I can probably speak for all the caregivers and blog readers alike, we really can’t wait to finish our expansion and welcome home our next group of eccentric CSNW residents.
I’m still practicing with our new camera, so I have just two random photos to share with you today.
Annie adoringly grooming Missy:
And Boss Jamie with boots and scarf close by:
