We’ve been exploring some pretty big topics lately. Earlier this week I emailed the link to those who registered for the recorded discussion with Jen Feuerstein on introductions/merging groups of chimpanzees, and yesterday J.B. shared his thoughts on the difficult topic of chimpanzee medical procedures.
As a departure from those deep dives into some of the bigger challenges of caring for chimpanzees in captivity, today’s blog post is just a little story from today’s day of sanctuary.
Many of the chimpanzees have favorite dining spots, places where they take their food to enjoy at their leisure. In the greenhouse, Jamie makes a a dining nook out of the smallest and highest windowsill between the greenhouse and the playroom. When I was spot-cleaning the playroom tonight, I found Jamie happily eating dinner in her nook. Though it’s not the easiest place to get to from the ground level where Sofía had served the chimps, Jamie had managed to bring the haul of food to the sill.
One huge advantage that Jamie has being the boss of her group is that she can temporarily abandon her food and generally remain confident that no one will take it. Actually, a lot of conflicts start in her group when someone else attempts to take food that Jamie has either been given directly or that she has decided belongs to her. To Jamie, taking food is a very big misstep that requires an immediate and dramatic reaction, even if, in all fairness, it was not clear that the food was hers. If you live with Jamie, it’s safest to assume everything belongs to her and proceed with caution if you see food that appears to be available for the taking.
Tonight, while in her nook, Jamie spotted a piece of beet on the lower platform, so she left her dinner behind to retrieve it. No one came near her food or the beet that she had claimed.
So she was free to get the bonus beet and traverse back to her nook to finish dining.
As I was closing up for the day, Jamie was motioning urgently to get my attention. When she had effectively secured by gaze, she gestured again and then ran into the greenhouse. I had already locked the human door that gave me access to the outside, but she was very insistent, so I unlocked. I expected that she wanted me to deliver her some snow, but as soon as I entered the human portion of the greenhouse, I saw that there were two pieces of rutabaga on the human side of the mesh outside of her reach. I picked them up and gave them to her, and she rewarded my obedience with a very happy moan before climbing back up to her nook with her second helping.
What a lovely shared moment you had with Jamie and her rutabaga. You must have felt very honored.
Being a fan of rutabegas myself, I can understand Jamie’s insistance on you retrieving the 2 pieces for her. It must be nice being the boss and putting the fear of God into the others to steer clear of her food.
By the way, I really enjoyed the blog that J.B. wrote last night, it was very interesting and informative. Also, I finally watched the video of the conversation between you and Jen F. on the introductions and mergers. Thank you for allowing us to watch and learn.
Its good to be the boss !
Thank you Diana, I love Jamie stories. She just kills me.
So funny, Thank God you got her urgent message about the rutabaga !:smile:
I forgot to say that Jamie, and maybe all of the chimps, really have eagle eyes when it comes to spotting things, especially bits of food.
Lol, Diana, as you guys say, “she’ll let you know!”
Your discussion of Jamie having “dibs” on most things reminds me of the video from a couple of weeks back (Bubba’s birthday?) when Jamie started in on Annie, who only had her portions and screamed right back. Sort of like Chris Farley’s character on SNL, when they all dressed as mall workers: “lay off me! I’m hungry!”
Looking at the second photo my mind went to the images of the vagabond cartoon characters from the past. I envisioned Jamie loading up her blanket with all that food much like the vagabonds filled their satchels tied to a stick. It would be a creative method to transport food up to her private dining nook. If she didn’t carry that blanket tied full of food, how did she ever get all that food up there in one trip?! Never underestimate Jamie. And thanks for collecting the two stray pieces of rutabaga for her. I can see Jamie staying up half the night creating a makeshift tool to nudge those pieces towards her. She’s too much. I simply adore her.
who is actually in charge of that place….? Jamie apparently was elected by acclamation…………….
Jamie is the self-appointed boss of everything
Haven’t you heard Tom…..It’s Jamie!!
Jamie is not just the boss she’s the CEO!
Diana, your talk with Jen brought up so many things to think about. It’s no wonder things get so stressful. I turned up the volume in that one short clip and it must be slightly terrifying.
I have a staunch passion for communications, notably when it’s interspecies. This post just proves that communication exists within different species be it animals or humans and many a times, at profound levels. Thank you for sharing.