Decades ago, some scientists thought that the ability to make and use tools was what set humans apart from our fellow animals. When Jane Goodall reported to her mentor, Dr. Louis Leakey, that she had seen a chimpanzee named David Greybeard make and use a termite fishing tool at Gombe, he responded with the very famous telegram: “Now we must redefine tool, redefine Man, or accept chimpanzees as humans.” I wonder what he’d say if he could see this this video of Jamie. Can you imagine anyone thinking it’s okay to use these relatives of ours in invasive biomedical research?
Jody
I’ve been trying for a while now to do a post on Jody. She is pretty camera shy! Today I snapped a picture of her outside enjoying the sun. Even though we don’t write about her as often as the others, she is a very special chimpanzee. For example:
1. She lets us know when she does not like our door opening/closing techniques, often by spitting a mouthful of water on us.
2. She “mothers” stuffed animals. Not as much as Foxie and her troll babies, but she is often seen snuggling up to a baby monkey or Elmo.
3. She has no time for silly things like playing chase or tug of war. She is much more interested in relaxing. And she deserves it after so many years of “service!”
4. She spends a lot of time grooming with the other chimpanzees. Today she and Foxie were out on the deck grooming away.
5. She often guides the other chimpanzees in for meals. Tonight Foxie was a little hesitant to come inside, perhaps in part because everyone was very excited (and noisy and rowdy and rambunctious) for dinner. Jody waited with Foxie until Foxie seemed ready to come in, and then followed right behind her. She does this for Negra and Annie too.
Pretty white things
First off: I’ve never been so excited to do laundry before! Behold!
Everyone here at CSNW is SO grateful to our devoted blog readers who took it upon themselves to provide us with this top-of-the-line set up! Special thanks to Margaret and Karen for spearheading the effort. What will you think of next?!
AND, because I can’t just post a picture of a washer, check out Jamie’s attire of the day. She had this on yesterday too and I couldn’t manage to snap her sitting still. She’s a classy gal!
PS. Don’t forget to go to Comedy Night tonight if you’re in the Seattle area! JB, Diana, and Keith will all be there waiting to meet you!
Morning play time
Jamie is a very active chimpanzee, but she’s generally pretty serious. She’s always working hard on a project of some sort, usually on her own. When she interacts with us, she plays tickle or chase, but until yesterday I had never seen her make a playface (the chimpanzee version of a smile, where they show their bottom teeth and cover their top teeth). Yesterday she made a playface, which was pretty cool to see. But today, it got even better. I heard laughing while Keith and I were cleaning, so I went to see who was having such fun. To my surprise, I saw Jamie and Foxie wrestling, playing tug of war with a broom and a robe, and laughing up a storm. Both had huge playfaces! This was new for Foxie too – we’ve never seen her play-wrestle with any of the other chimps. Here’s to happy chimps!
Fireman’s hat + orange shirt + troll + paper = NEST?
Here are some action shots of exciting stuff going on here this morning: Foxie making a (modest) nest! You can see her clapping – she does this as she’s going through her routine. Go Foxie!
Dining al fresco
We’re having fabulous weather here in Cle Elum – perhaps the last before things turn chilly and snowy – so we served dinner outside this evening. Here are are few pics of the chimps enjoying the beautiful evening.
Jamie:
Foxie:
We’ve got mail
Busy day today, but I thought I’d take a sec to send a note to the mystery person who “helped” the Cle Elum Seven send us a thank you card! JB, Diana, Keith and I got a very sweet message in the mail from all the gang thanking us for being their best friends! We thank them for being our best friends too!
