Continuing with the Valentine’s-month blog posts featuring each of those in our care, I made sure to reserve Jamie to write about because I do have a great deal of love for her.
Unfortunately, we don’t know a lot about Jamie’s history. Unlike many of the other chimpanzees at the sanctuary we are not aware of any of Jamie’s relatives. We don’t know where or exactly when she was born. We were told she was owned by an animal trainer until she was nine years old, but we don’t know how she was used. In addition to their use in movies and television shows, it wasn’t uncommon back then for chimpanzees to be used in roadside attractions or even rented out as entertainment for birthday parties. That’s our best guess as to how she was used to make money for her owner.
Many chimpanzees in similar situations, like George who was born on a training compound, were used in the entertainment industry for only a few years before they were deemed too strong, willful, or just too much trouble and cast aside, replaced by younger chimpanzees. At nine, Jamie remained in entertainment longer than most.
She bares the signs of being raised in a human environment. When she first arrived at the sanctuary in 2008, she would choose to wear clothes on a regular basis. She does something I’ve never seen another chimpanzee do: tie knots. Sometimes tied in the scarves that adorn her neck.
Sometimes tied in a nest-blanket she’s weaved through the mesh.
We choose to celebrate Jamie’s birthday on Halloween in honor of her mischievous ways.
Fittingly, Jamieween has become the biggest party of the year at the sanctuary.
I consider Jamie to be a good friend. A friendship that has developed over many years. The kind of friend I can just sit with in relaxed comfort.
I understand some of her frustrations of captivity, notice her need for things to be “just so”, and admire her ability to take charge and run towards potential threats to her group, like snakes.
There’s no question that she can be a bully and has a heightened sense of entitlement (she views all food as belonging to her, unless she says otherwise, for example). This quality can make her a less-than ideal roommate, especially for lower-ranking chimpanzees like Foxie and Annie. And it can lead to some funny moments, like this one years ago that reinforced her reputation for being “the party police.”
Perhaps because of her penchant for intimidation, when Jamie is in a good mood, being silly and playful, there’s really nothing better. And she can be quite funny. Jamie really appreciates when you listen to her and know what she wants. She releases a low moan/groan when she’s truly happy, which can often be when a human goes searching for and gives her the particular boot or book (or both) that she had in her mind.
Making Jamie happy makes everyone happy.
It doesn’t take much for Jamie to get up in the morning, because she has an internal list of items on her checklist for the day. Jamie is most likely to be found busy doing something, whether it’s patrolling her outdoor habitat, demanding something from her caregivers, working on a puzzle, or crafting her own enrichment.
I hope you have fallen even more in love with boss Jamie than you were before!
Big thanks to the 9 Chimpanzee Pals that have already showed their love of this complicated, multi-dimensional, intelligent, admirable, sometimes irascible chimpanzee.
If you would like to show your love and loyalty, I encourage you to become Jamie’s Chimpanzee Pal today.
