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Scary, Spooky Stories [Cy’s Perspective]

October 7, 2022 by Jenna Skinner

It is officially SPOOKY season!

Today, I am bringing you a video of Cy being very spooked… by the travel magazine he was reading.

While Cy LOVES to read, which we mention frequently, he occasionally finds things in his magazines that are very scary. You can watch him physically jump at the sight of cows in a blog video that Kelsi captured back in January, here.

I have created a list of things Cy is scared of with the help of my coworkers. As he reads many magazines every week, I’m sure this list will continue to grow.

Things Cy finds scary:

  • Flannel shirts
  • Elephants
  • Pink pigs
  • Cows
  • Hippos
  • Rhinos
  • Animated Scooby Doo
  • Panda Bears
  • Artichokes
  • Giraffes

Check out today’s video to see how we discovered that Cy is scared of giraffes.

Despite him finding scary things in the magazines from time to time, that doesn’t affect his love for reading.

Giving Day for Apes is only a few days away! Early giving is open now, but on Tuesday, October 11th, we will be competing with other accredited sanctuaries in North America for a variety of prizes. So much has happened at the sanctuary over the last few years and it’s all due to our generous supporters- keep helping us make our residents dreams come true by donating to CSNW! All donations will go directly to the care of our residents.
Donate to CSNW for Giving Day for Apes here: https://www.mightycause.com/organization/Chimpsnw
Learn more about Giving Day for Apes here:
https://www.givingdayforapes.org/giving-events/ga22/home

We also are prepping for Jamieween! We have added some special items we know Jamie would love for her birthday on our Amazon Wishlist!

Thank you!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. MELANIE ANN KELSEY says

    October 7, 2022 at 4:08 pm

    Animated Scooby Doo and artichokes ARE scary…..lol

  2. Linda C says

    October 7, 2022 at 4:09 pm

    That’s a long list, Jenna!
    So I guess your job DOES have a dress code now, doesn’t it? Flannel shirts and animated Scooby Doo (which begs the question, is there a NON-animated Scooby Doo?!) made me laugh the most!
    Does this mean you cannot serve artichokes on that side of the house, or just not to Cy?
    And how confusing for Terry! “Bro, do you want my help or not!?”

    • Jenna Skinner says

      October 7, 2022 at 5:59 pm

      I just meant that he hasn’t seen the cartoon Scooby, but is scared of the animated Scooby in the latest versions! :joy: but you got me there! They are both technically animated! I think he is scared of Scooby because the long snout is hippo-like, but that’s just my theory!

      • Linda C says

        October 7, 2022 at 6:07 pm

        Oh, okay! I haven’t seen it, but maybe the animation is like in “Polar Express”? I can’t watch that one;the animation style creeps me out.
        So jist pictures of artichokes, or do real artichokes scare him, too? When you test out the flannel shirt, bring a spare, lol!

  3. Beth M says

    October 7, 2022 at 4:19 pm

    Great blog and fascinating behavior.

  4. Lisa says

    October 7, 2022 at 4:27 pm

    the fact that Cy can recognize a scary thing in a magazine is fascinating! how smart he is! And of course animated scooby doo, who wouldn’t be afraid of that!

  5. Karen says

    October 7, 2022 at 4:36 pm

    I wonder if he has been mistreated by someone wearing flannel shirts in his past, perhaps as an infant and it has stuck with him?

  6. CeeCee says

    October 7, 2022 at 4:45 pm

    Well, I guess Cy is a bit of a drama queen, and he want’s everyone to see and be scared of what he’s scared of. Makes sense to me. Keep up the good work Cy !

  7. Kathleen says

    October 7, 2022 at 5:39 pm

    Okay, I’m afraid I have to unpack this a little bit more! 🙂 So is Cy afraid of flannel shirts or plaid? Meaning, if he’s afraid of images of plaid he’d be frightened by plaid sheets and shirts (both could be flannel) but, Cy would also be afraid of kilts. And he could come across kilts in travel magazines. So beware!

    Ruh roh, not Scooby?! Just Scooby-Doo? Not Scooby’s gang?! What about Snoopy? Or Wile E Coyote?! Cy is a crack up ….. and reading your blog had me chuckling so hard. But then I watched the video and his alarm call and his expression was so frightening it really made me feel for him. It’s like me when there’s a bat flying, trapped in my house. It’s no fun to be spooked like that.

    Hats off to Terry coming to the rescue and trying to remove the threat. That’s a true friend! It’s all so interesting.

    Too bad Cy and Annie can’t get together to discuss their fears. And Jamie could relate too. I’ll never forget the time she was frightened by the picture of a snake in one of her books! (…and yet, she likes mummies and skeletons. Go figure!)

    • Linda C says

      October 7, 2022 at 5:47 pm

      Oh, no, Kathleen!
      In my last apartment, in about 12-13 years there, I had at least 11 bats (though I suspect the second one of the double-header weekend was a repeat offender). The one summer I didn’t have one, I was in Puerto Rico at Thanksgiving, kayaked through the mangrove forest to the bioluminescent lagoon, and had one on my head! I’ve been in my own place for 1 year, but still can’t see them in film, pics, and when a bird flies over my shoulder from behind if I’m on the train platform, I lose my stuff!

    • Jenna Skinner says

      October 7, 2022 at 5:56 pm

      Cy is afraid of flannel shirts! I believe this is based on his response to some clothing magazines. We have a couple red plaid blankets in the chimphouse and it doesn’t bother him! I haven’t worked here during the winter yet – but I’m curious to see if flannel clothing would bother him on caregivers or not. He knows our faces so well, maybe it wouldn’t be as scary. I shall see!

      Just Scooby Doo! He hasn’t seen the cartoon version that I’m aware of, but he is terrified of the animated Scooby in the most recent versions with real people. I personally think it is because how long Scooby’s snout is – very hippo-like! I think any cartoon character is good unless you have things in common with hippos! :joy:

      • Kathleen says

        October 7, 2022 at 8:47 pm

        Thanks for clarifying that, Jenna. I’m assuming Cy is only afraid of these items in print form, right? What a funny chap.

        Egads! I had no idea there was a Scooby Doo version with people and a CGI Scooby doo. That IS scary! You are right, that Scooby look like a brown hippo. :fearful: Believe it or not, I had the special pleasure of meeting/interviewing with Mr. Bill Hanna himslef after I graduated college. He hooked me up with the producer of Hanna-Barbera and I attended his animation classes. Guess what I worked on? Drawing inbetween images of Scooby Doo! Please let Cy know the original animated Scooby was adorable and funny. Cy should watch the originals, I think he’ll approve.:blush:

  8. Debbie says

    October 7, 2022 at 7:14 pm

    Poor Cy! It isn’t a good feeling when scared and trying to protect. Although Terry had the right idea. Just get rid of the problem!

  9. Tobin says

    October 7, 2022 at 7:23 pm

    Poor Cy. I don’t wish for him to suffer distress. Given the list of animals which appear to frighten him, perhaps he finds the position of their eyes on their heads to unnerving to him. By contrast, the eyes of the primates who live and work around him have our eyes positioned on the front of our faces (perhaps the curvature of a bisected avocado also evokes a monocular image that also disturbs him).

    As for his seeming fear of plaid flannel shirts, I don’t know how to accommodate Cy. After all, he lives in the Pacific Northwest, where such attire is the regulation uniform of many of the human primates. With any luck, Kittitas County is not overpopulated by mystery-solving Great Danes who has “some meddling kids” as companions…

    • Kathleen says

      October 7, 2022 at 8:20 pm

      Tobin, you nailed it. Of all the places to be afraid of plaid flannel shirts! Poor Cy lives in the land of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana! Cy is doomed.

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