As this morning’s heavy fog burned off, the sanctuary positively glowed.
Foxie:
Annie
Jody:
An awestruck Jody
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
–Anne of Green Gables
L.M. Montgomery
Negra goes outside, just because she can!
This morning I opened the door to Young’s Hill and 6 chimpanzees poured out onto the hill to investigate any changes that might have happened overnight in their 2 acre outdoor enclosure. Moments after opening the door, Negra surprised me by venturing out as well. I expected her to stop and maybe eat a little Autumn grass before going back inside, but instead she continued further out onto the hill and climbed a structure where she could overlook the valley below the sanctuary. Negra is mainly motivated by food and comfortable beds, and she seems to go outdoors primarily to forage, so I was pretty excited for her to feel secure enough to go out on the hill, just to get some sunshine and enjoy the view.
After taking a few photos, I left her to clean the playroom. Twenty minutes later, I peaked out the window and saw that she was still there, with the same dreamy look in her eyes! Elizabeth took a few more photos.
When Negra is outside, the other chimps get pretty excited about it too. Today, Missy and Jamie surrounded her for some grooming.
Busy work
We had this giant box of shipping/moving paper saved up with a fun enrichment project in mind. After Jamie and Burrito dismantled the box, Missy was more than happy to recycle the paper as lining in her giant nest!
That new doll smell!
A couple of weeks ago we introduced you to Foxie’s new love of a purple haired Strawberry Shortcake doll. Well yesterday her new shiny friends arrived in the mail! Foxie was so excited that she wanted us to playfully chase her around holding the box before she could even bring herself to cuddle them.
Lazy play for a lazy day
Missy and Negra didn’t feel the need to release much energy in this morning’s play bout. Notice how it devolves slowly into a grooming session. Negra approves of all interactions where she gets to stay in bed!
The many uses of enrichment
The chimps are not known for being gentle with the enrichment they receive. Many of the toys they get each day have a primary use (to be examined and played with) and a secondary use (to be destroyed by any means possible). I imagine there’s something pretty enjoyable about making a huge pile of fun destruction and then have housekeeping come in every morning so you can do it all over again.
