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7 years bad luck

January 4, 2024 by Anna

Let me begin this story by telling you that today is my birthday… This is not a plea for birthday wishes, but rather an ironic cherry on top of this latest chimp house caper… More on that later.

Today, Jamie and her group received a roll of paper. This is a standard enrichment item that they receive regularly. What wasn’t standard about today, was Jamie’s mischief she decided to create with the cardboard tube at the center of the roll of paper. Unbeknownst to her caregivers, Jamie spent her morning using the cardboard tube as a a tool to knock down a very breakable mirror that we have had mounted on the outside of the caging (for many years!). We use this mirror to spy into the loft of the playroom so we can see who’s up there from our vantage point on the ground. Today though, Jamie decided it had to go.

To truly tell this story, we had to watch Jamie’s antics back on our security camera footage. Unfortunately, the video quality wasn’t great so to really appreciate today’s blog, you’ll have to use some imagination. After finding her ready to use tool, Jamie spent about a half an hour working on Project: Destroy Mirror. She tried multiple angles and methods until she successfully sent the mirror crashing down to its demise.

After hearing the crash of something shattering into a million tiny pieces, I naturally responded to the incident with a broom and worked on making sure the glass pieces were safely out of chimpanzee reach… Only to be greeted by Jamie and a handful of feces flung at my head. How dare I move her sharp glass, she had worked so hard on that! Volunteer Dusty and I spent an extra hour diligently cleaning up my happy birthday mess, artfully gifted to me by my creative chimpanzee boss/overlord.

Thanks James.

Speaking of birthdays, Burrito’s big day is coming up.  As Kelsi announced yesterday, in celebration of Burrito’s 41st birthday we will be having a photo contest to have our followers pick their favorite photo(s) of Burrito, we will then be selling the photo with the most votes.  We will post the contest every day on the blog, so you can vote once per day and you are welcome to vote for more than one photo! The contest ends on January 8th at 6:00 p.m. PT.

 

 

 

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Comments

  1. Kathleen says

    January 4, 2024 at 4:22 pm

    Happy Birthday to you, Anna! I hope when you get home to your beautiful family you can relax and put Jamie’s antics behind you and a respectable celebration will commence!! Cheers to you!

    No bad luck allowed! Toss salt over your shoulder or whatever you’re supposed to do. Oh Jamie! Flung poop is not an acceptable response towards a caregiver who is helping to get the dozens of shives off the floor and out of reach. Wow! That could have been a disaster! (Honey B would be proud of her neighbor if she knew!)

    Thank you for adding goofball Burrito with iceberg lettuce to the mix! That really gave me a chuckle!

  2. Cindee says

    January 4, 2024 at 4:25 pm

    Quite the birthday present from Jamie to you, Anna! Happy Birthday nonetheless!

  3. Linda C says

    January 4, 2024 at 4:30 pm

    Well, Anna, on the other hand, your birthday has nowhere to go but up! You’re coming up on closing time, so I hope you get some time for birthday fun with your hubby and that big girl!(she must be–3? 4? by now?) I’m sure Luna will say something to make it all better!

    For those who just can’t imagine it, I’ll try to search for “contraband”, a fav video, and link it here.
    Happy birthday!?

    • Linda C says

      January 4, 2024 at 4:32 pm

      Enhoy, all!
      https://youtu.be/2Cte__c57Jw?si=TQ9sjq4WEqmlhgEP

    • Marie says

      January 4, 2024 at 4:54 pm

      Spectacular Photo JB ….I see you ADDED to list! That’s a WINNER…:heart_eyes::grin:

  4. Marie says

    January 4, 2024 at 4:55 pm

    Wow…..Spectacular Photo JB ….I see you ADDED to list! That’s a WINNER…:heart_eyes::grin:

    • Marie says

      January 4, 2024 at 5:05 pm

      Maybe …Anna….it’s a compliment! She could have been:watermelon::grapes::avocado: trying to give you the residuals of all her Favorite Foods and a colony of seeds for your Birthday:grin:….Chimps are so misunderstood:thinking: HAPPY BIRTHDAY:balloon::gift:

  5. Arlene and Michael says

    January 4, 2024 at 5:03 pm

    Happy Birthday Anna!
    We appreciate what you do!! Enjoy and keep celebrating!!!

  6. Nancy Duryea says

    January 4, 2024 at 6:00 pm

    Happy Birthday Anna, that was some birthday gift from Jamie :rofl:. Honey B must be somehow sending cryptic messages to Jamie, I would keep an eye on those two!

  7. Gaynell says

    January 4, 2024 at 6:30 pm

    Happy Birthday, Anna. i know you’ll have a good one after you put away the broom. Someone shoukd have to give up this week’s allowance to pay for her mischief damages.

  8. CeeCee says

    January 4, 2024 at 6:30 pm

    I think the boss must have known about your birthday, and wanted you to have your day be ” Special ” .
    Jamie knows what you like :revolving_hearts:
    Happy Birthday Anna !

  9. Paulette says

    January 4, 2024 at 6:35 pm

    Happy Birthday Anna! :tada::birthday::balloon:My reactions were first uh oh (the mirror), then eew! (the flinging poop):see_no_evil:
    You poor thing. Do you all have an extra change of clothes you keep in your locker?

    On to other business… Again tonight I’m getting no pictures of Burrito to vote for. I decided to go to my computer instead (haven’t opened it in months!) and there they all are! Thank you all for your patience with me yesterday. I was VERY frustrated!

    • Linda C says

      January 4, 2024 at 7:49 pm

      yaaay!
      (I’ve had the same question about the change of clothes! :smile:)

  10. Linda C says

    January 4, 2024 at 7:52 pm

    Here’s Jamie and her “contraband”
    https://youtu.be/2Cte__c57Jw?si=41-rpu7Y1FHwVL_W

    • Kathleen says

      January 5, 2024 at 6:35 am

      Thanks for including the link, Linda. I’d forgotten all about it! Not only does Jamie get her “contraband” she is also successful in putting it to use to get the result she wanted. And the cheering squad gathered around her cracks me up. (Jody, ever so innocent, going to J.B. for reassurance as if to say she’s not involved in the caper.)

      • Linda C says

        January 5, 2024 at 1:07 pm

        Lol, I wasn’t sure if Jo was begging forgiveness (“it wasn’t me”) or distracting away from what Jamie was doing :laughing:

  11. Donna “Kelly” Kuntz says

    January 4, 2024 at 8:11 pm

    So sorry for the mirror and subsequent tossing of the closest unpleasantness, but such a truly wondrous use of a tool! You go, Jamie!

  12. Tobin says

    January 4, 2024 at 8:22 pm

    Anna,

    Wow, you received a birthday surprise, one might say, from the very bottom of Jamie’s…uh, never mind.

    What a story Honey B’s friend Luna has waiting for her at an age-appropriate time in the future…

    • Linda C says

      January 5, 2024 at 1:08 pm

      :joy::joy:

    • Paulette says

      January 5, 2024 at 1:14 pm

      :rofl:
      (if that doesn’t show up it’s supposed to be a sideways laughing head with tears). I love your humor! Cracks me up

  13. Adrienne says

    January 4, 2024 at 9:44 pm

    Never a boring day with chimps! Well, broken mirror certainly means 7 year of misfortune, but, as we say it in my country, what could be a better way to get rid of the bad fate than getting a feces charm? I’m sure charming Jamie just wanted to reverse bad luck by sending you some love-pack. Anyway, happy birthday and don’t worry about the mirror, all the chakras are cleansed. :grin::monkey_face::four_leaf_clover::birthday:

  14. Susan Kathleen Feeley says

    January 4, 2024 at 10:03 pm

    Well, happy birthday, Anna & that’s one birthday you won’t forget in a hurry. Most creative of Jamie and mischievous.Thank God you and Dusty managed to sweep all the glass up.

  15. lisa says

    January 4, 2024 at 10:13 pm

    Jamie could have used the tube to try to destroy a lot of things– why the mirror?

  16. Eli says

    January 5, 2024 at 12:15 am

    Happy birthday! I hope you received some nicer presents than Jamie’s surprise gift! Never a quiet day with Boss lady around, I guess.

  17. Karen says

    January 5, 2024 at 1:36 am

    I vpted yesterday, but it wont let me vote again today??

    • Linda C says

      January 5, 2024 at 3:04 am

      Maybe the direct link Diana provided yesterday and not the page? or maybe it resets according to PST

  18. marianne says

    January 5, 2024 at 3:54 am

    Happy birthday Anna, I hope you’ve had a lovely sweet cake to “rinse” away the poopy memory of this day.
    But I wonder: How In The World did Jamie get to break that mirror on that angle??
    My goodness what a woman.

    • Kathleen says

      January 5, 2024 at 6:53 am

      And how did Jamie break the mirror with a cardboard tube?! That alone shows the strength, force and power of a chimpanzee!

  19. Carla says

    January 5, 2024 at 1:53 pm

    Happy Birthday Anna!!?

  20. Carla says

    January 5, 2024 at 1:54 pm

    Happy Birthday Anna!!?

  21. Jen Wallace says

    January 6, 2024 at 5:04 pm

    Anna- Happy belated birthday!
    sorry about the poop!

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