Bubba, Bubs, Bubba Lou, Bubba Lewsky, Lewsky, Lewsky Lou, Lewsk, Lewsky Louis, Louis, Lou
Those are just MY nicknames for my dear friend, Burrito.
I met Burrito on December 5th, 2019. He was in isolation while recovering from a fight that occurred during an attempt to integrate the newly arrived Californians (Willy B, Honey B, and Mave) with the Cle Elum 7 (Negra, Jamie, Jody, Missy, Burrito, Annie and Foxie). I’m sure many of you remember how traumatic that event was for both chimp and human alike. Burrito sustained some pretty severe injuries, so he remained in isolation for more than 2 months! But even so, he wanted to be friends. As a volunteer, you are instructed not to interact with the chimpanzees, besides a polite head nod, until you’ve been trained to safely do so as a Level III volunteer. I remember cleaning the front rooms as a Level II volunteer, along side where Burrito was staying, and trying my hardest not to interact with him. He wanted to play so badly! I will admit, I whispered to him, “some day, Burrito, some day we will be friends”.
Me and the nest I built for Burrito while he was in isolation. This was pre-Covid, which is why I’m maskless.
Fast forward to August 2021, the sanctuary started inviting a few volunteers back after Covid. I was one of the lucky ones, and became a Level III volunteer. And you know what that means!! I was finally able to play with my new friend. I think that, when it comes to Burrito, if you are willing to be super enthusiastic in your silly ridiculousness, you are in!
Burrito is funny, charming, handsome, energetic, silly, goofy, spirited, ridiculous, giggly, and just plain cute!
It’s actually tough to get much done when Burrito is around. Cleaning toys by Playroom 1? Nope – time for chase! In the kitchen doing dishes? Heck no – it’s time for a run around the hill! Serving a meal? Burrito wants you to stick a carrot in his ear!
I hope that you are lucky enough to have a friend like Burrito in your life. He brings me so much joy!
Tomorrow, Sunday, August 25th is the second installment of the HBO docuseries Chimp Crazy, which will be available to watch on MAX on and after 10pm ET. Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest and the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance will once again be hosting a discussion on Tuesday after the episode (August 27, 6pm PT / 8pm CT / 9pm ET) to explore Episode 2: Gone Ape. Register to join the second installment in this discussion series “Primate Perspectives: Unpacking Chimp Crazy. We will talk about the contents of episode two and the history of the use of chimpanzees as pets and the current pet trade in monkeys. We will be recording it this week, so if you register but are unable to join, we will send you a link to the recording.
