When I pulled into work this morning, my plan for the blog was to talk about how it officially feels like spring-time on Jamie’s side of the building. Some panels were taken off the Greenhouse last week and this opens up the opportunity for caregivers to serve meals outside, to better see the chimps and their interactions, and participate in enthusiastic games of chase with a certain someone (ahem, Burrito). It was going to be beau-ti-ful. This all changed, though, when caregiver Katelyn and myself were cleaning the playroom and heard the tell tale sign of something slithery and sinister.
We heard Annie alarm calling and went out to see what was wrong. The chimps (except for Negra, who was in the greenhouse) were all out near a platform on Young’s Hill. We could tell they had discovered a snake and we even saw Jamie grab and throw it. Thankfully, our team has worked on recall with Jamie’s group for this exact reason and we were able to get all 7 chimps off of Young’s Hill. This was my first ever snake-on-the-hill scenario and I have to be honest- searching through tall grass for an unidentified slithery someone is not on the top of my list of preferred activities, but we grabbed the snake catcher and were on our way. Anthony and I took part in the snake search and it involved many renditions of “Who ya gonna call? Snake-busters!”.
Anthony snagged this photo of myself on the hill with our snake catcher, our tool that allows us to humanely grab the snake while we get the tote in place.
After a little while searching, we spotted the two (!) slithery fiends. Can you find them? Extra points if you can, the photo is from my phone and is very pixelated.
When we got off the hill, Jamie and Annie were waiting to see whether we had been successful.
And we had been! I was able to catch one of the snakes, while the other one went sprinting up the hill. We continued the search, but it had sped up, off, and away. Anthony took our little friend and released it away from the chimp house after I snagged this photo of it from the top of the snake capture tote. Thankfully, it was a non-venomous racer (Coluber constrictor)… and I am officially adding snake catcher to my list of skills.
While this isn’t the first snake we’ve seen this year, and it won’t be the last, it is reassuring that it was non-venomous and that we were able to get it off the hill. Since it was such a beautiful day and we were already on the hill, we decided to make the most of it and have a hill forage!
Burrito enjoying some avocado on Young’s Hill.
Jody brought her loot back into the Greenhouse, where she could watch the rest of the group participate in the forage.
Jamie with a mouth and hand full of peppers, climbing to the top of a Young’s Hill structure.
Annie having a quiet moment after foraging.
Happy Sunday, everyone!
Oh No!! The snakes are up and about. Could someone please have some stern words with Burrito. Or alternatively, now you have the experience Grace, give him some training on how to use your snake catcher stick.
Annie looks so tiny in that photo
ah, The best laid plans Grace…
That is the cutest sweetest picture of Jodi ever!!
That is a beautiful photograph. Given the circumstances, I wonder what she is thinking as she looks out upon the hill.
Perhaps I am mistaken, but I thought that after Burrito was bitten by a rattlesnake, the perimeter of Young’s HIll was snake-proofed. Perhaps such a thing is simply not possible, but I thought there was some elaborate set up which would prevent snakes from entering the area.
Mark – there has always been a snake fence around the entire perimeter of Young’s Hill. This works to keep the majority of snakes out of the hill, but there is no way to keep every snake off the hill. And when they find their way in, we do our best to remove them!
Ohhhh, Grace!! What a brave woman! I’m so glad you used your wiles to find and release the now gorgeous-but-I’m-relieved-gone slitherers. I have recollections of Bubba’s bravery and wounds with rattlers in recent years and am very glad this wasn’t one of those times. I must say, the pic of Annie tightly gripping food with her toes as well as hands was very charming. I’ve never seen a shot of “feet-food-I-mean-business” quite as clearly as that and it’s very delightful. Talk about a woman who makes certain her food remains hers!! I’m glad a peaceful forage was held after all.
That is a cute picture of Annie, having developed an appetite after alarm-calling about a couple of intruders on her property. For comparison, you might want to look at a photograph from 7.17.2019 concerning feet, bananas, and a Royal Prerogative.
Oh no! Living in Australia, I’m extra paranoid about snakes so this report scared me silly. We couldn’t bear another incident which would harm our precious chimpanzees or worse. Have you had a professional snake company out to give advice on how to stop them….surely there must be solutions, apart from waiting for dear Annie to tell you? JB said there was a fence which was put back after all the building work had finished but if so, it doesn’t seem to be working? It’s so early in the season so maybe you could start a ‘snake fund’ to pay for any upgrades to your current system? Keep safe everyone.
That is a beautiful photograph. Given the circumstances, I wonder what she is thinking as she looks out upon the hill.
Yikes! What’s worse than one snake? Two snakes! (and yes, I believe I spotted both snakes). While reading this I realized I could never be a cavergiver. I just wouldn’t be able to bring myself to search through the grass for the slithering snakes let alone capture them and place them into a sack! Eeeek! That’s the stuff nightmares are made of.
Thanks for stopping to take the photo of Jamie and Annie. I laughed seeing them. I know that anticipatory rush as you wait to see “the proof” so you can finally give a sigh of relief, even the body posture feels familiar (Jamie!). They look so human in their reaction.
As far as the forage goes, it’s wonderful your days are warming enough to open the greenhouse a little. Lovely for the chimps. Excellent photos os Jody and Annie!
Hope the weather clears (I see you are having rain tonight) for your celebrations tomorrow. Happy birthday eve to my beloved Negra and sweet Terry!!!
Annie, always the first to call out the snake alarm, I get such a kick out of her (not that I wouldn’t do the same). I also love the picture of her feet and hands loaded with food. Rarely a dull moment at the Sanctuary!!
That photo of Annie with her loot is absolutely amazing! She melts my heart.
I think Annie had to eat away her anxiety: it takes up a lot of energy to be scared and be the one who sounds the snake alarm….
Good for you Grace, brave woman!
It remindes me of my fear of spiders, untill I lived in Australia for a while, where there are Huntsman spiders, as big as your hand….Now spiders do not bother me anymore; I catch them in my hand and put them outside.
Thank goodnes there are very few snakes here in the Netherlands….
The pictures of Annie and Jody are the absolute best I have seen of them. Chimp photos are the best!