Jamie and Foxie have a complicated relationship.
As the Alpha, Jamie rules with a bit of an iron fist, and often takes advantage of her position. Foxie is at the bottom of the social hierarchy and, because of this, is often targeted during conflicts. However, that doesn’t mean that Jamie and Foxie don’t spend quality time together, grooming and playing.
Today was one of those days! At least as far as Jamie was concerned..
If you have the time, check out these old blogs that highlight Jamie and Foxie’s play sessions!
https://chimpsnw.org/2010/05/foxie-and-jamies-epic-play-session/
https://chimpsnw.org/2011/01/jamie-and-foxies-wild-play/
https://chimpsnw.org/2011/04/troll-play/
https://chimpsnw.org/2014/11/chimpanzee-pretzel-play/
Hi, Krissy!
Due to those past videos, and Foxie’s bio saying that she’s everybody’s friend, I always thought they were besties. And then a year or so ago, I became aware of how complicated it is.
I never appreciated until this video, even though I’ve been following for years, exactly how small she is, because in most videos with Jamie, they’re in motion. Seeing the two of them sitting still side by side, you can appreciate the size difference.
(I feel like the biting here was done more for your benefit than for Foxie’s, lol. She kept looking at you to see if you were going to intervene). My poor little Foxie friend!
From what I understand, after Jo passed, Jamie started targeting Foxie more.
I didn’t think the staff intervened with the chimps interactions unless, like in the introductions, the situation becomes dangerous. In other words the chimps need to work out their differences.
However, everyone’s comments bring up interesting points.
Krissy, is there any chance we could have a post explaining the history behind this “complicated” relationship between Foxie and Jamie and how Jody’s absence affected the situation? Does their age, now that they are older, help or hinder the friendship? Do you caregivers need to intervene ever or are their squabbles just expected occasionally (or regularly!)?
I know this isn’t a topic you can simplify but it would be an interesting blog topic for the future. Thanks!
Foxie always looks a bit sad to me; now I understand that she is at the bottom of the pile, so that makes sense.
Jamie was performing for you I think: “are you looking at me, and see how sweet I am to Foxie??”.
I can’t believe it but I’d totally forgotten about the epic games of Steal the Troll and Tug-O-War Troll and all of the other variations that Jamie and Foxie played. Since the links to the included videos are all older than ten years, do these two still play an older lady version of these games today or has it become so “complicated” that Troll Tag and Troll Tug are antics of the past?
In today’s video, I can’t tell if Jamie would prefer the paparazzi stop intruding so she can play privately or if Jamie is more curious about what is going on behind or around you. Not sure I’ve ever seen such a half-hearted or very distracted effort of engaging in play on Jamie’s behalf! I also couldn’t tell if Foxie’s swinging back-and-forth was just Foxie being Foxie or if she was “uncomfortable” or “unsure” at Jamie’s attempts to play. But Foxie’s pushing Jamie away spoke volumes. Nope, not interested.
So now I have to ask, do you still place Trolls in bag or tie them together? Both forms cracked me up! And do these old friends still get into a good game of Troll Tag now and then even it means running slower, less pirouettes, and half the crazy antics? I sure hope so. Can’t thank you enough for attaching the links to those old videos. No way to express the happiness I felt while watching them.
Wow! Thank you so much for all of those Foxie/Jamie plays from the past. Oh my gosh, so hard to imagine that those were 12–16 years ago!!