We have been learning a lot about all of the chimpanzees over the last few days. Jamie is quite amazing. She figured out the lazy susan feeding doors in about 2 sec. She really enjoys the enrichment that we’ve been giving out – she’s spent many hours cleaning with the brushes and big buckets of soapy water that we have given her. The second day we left the bucket in room two. When the chimpanzees were let back into that room, Jamie immediately went for the bucket – ignoring all of the fruit that we had also left in the room, which is pretty remarkable because she loves fruit and can get angry if someone else gets an apple or orange that she wants. Instead, she protected the bucket and would not let any of the other chimpanzees near it until she had tired of cleaning – which took over an hour. She was very focused and thourough in her cleaning, concentrating on one concrete step for a long time, then washing a mug in her bucket as though it were a sink.Today, Sarah and J.B. report that Jamie tied a bow – she took a piece of string, put it around her neck, and tied it into a bow. These things indicate that Jamie was raised in a very human environment prior to being sold to Buckshire. We hope to find out more. Although it is a testament to their intelligence and ability to learn, it always saddens me a bit when chimpanzees do things which they only could have learned in a human environment. It makes me wonder how Jamie views herself and if she once saw herself as a human, or perhaps still does. We as humans have taken away ‘normal’ chimpanzee culture by raising chimpanzees in captivity, and often we replace that with aspects of our own culture, so the chimpanzee is left with no place to really fit in.On a positive note, we will be working hard to keep Jamie occupied and interested in her surroundings and we will provide her with her favorite things as we learn what they are.Diana
Haunting Before Photo of Jody
I keep thinking about the photo below. Jody looks so fragile. Like all of the chimpanzees who came from the laboratory, Jody’s hair is very sparse and her skin is loose over her atrophied muscles. I think this will be a “Before” photo and I will take another photo from the same vantage point in several months. Soaking in the sun and having the ability to climb and run and play will make a huge difference.
Nests and Grooming
Chimpanzees in big playroom now!
I’ve got my hands full today processing a whole bunch of produce that Safeway gave to us this morning. They’ve been wonderful and are setting aside produce that they pull from their stock each day – most of it has only slight blemishes.I wanted to be sure to tell everyone that the chimpanzees are now in the big playroom. The stairs were secured this morning and we did a thorough check of the area. The actual “release” into the play area was fairly mellow. I think that the group was fairly uncertain about going into that big space. Once in, however, they settled in pretty quickly. Missy almost immediately began nesting, and when she saw Annie making a nest in another spot, Missy took her blankets and made her bed right next to Annie’s. Jamie is checking out everything and, as predicted, especially likes to look through the window into the human kitchen. She’s pretty excited about Safeway’s generous produce gifts and is watching me intently as I wash strawberries, carrots, potatoes, melons, apples, radishes, and organic lettuce. When Foxie went into the play area, she was clearly a little wary, and she spent at least 20 minutes just walking around the perimeter of the inside of the room, checking everything out. Although there’s a sturdy set of stairs now in the play area to get to the loft and catwalk (mostly for the benefit of humans), Negra has decided to use the railing instead, chimpanzee-style. It’s great to see her do this and I look forward to reporting more new behaviors and acrobatic prowess from all. I’ll post photos as soon as I can! Diana
#3 of Top 10 Moments
Foxie gazing at playroom from first front room.
Negra’s Home
Click on the words “Negra’s Home” at the end of the paragraph for a video of Negra filmed yesterday coming into her new home!! She was the last chimpanzee to be tranferred in. You can see in the video that she comes right in and excitedly greets Sarah, who was taking the video. When the door is opened for her, she goes through to meet up with her chimpanzee friends waiting in the other front rooms. Negra’s home
So much to say about the chimpanzees…
Wow. The first full day with the Cle Elum Seven at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. There’s just so much to share – we already feel behind in updating folks. They are all just doing so well and are so much fun – it’s unbelievable. Here are my personal top ten moments (in no particular order) over the past day and a half:
1. Negra sleeping in a comfy nest on the highest platform in the first front room
2. Jamie playing chase while carrying a purse, a t-shirt, and a large kong toy
3. Foxie looking out to the big playroom – they’ll be going in tomorrow!
4. Jody’s enthusiastic greetings whenever we walk into the human hallway
5. Missy head bobbing frantically for more sweet peppers
6. Burrito playing with Jamie
7. Annie chasing Missy throughout the front rooms – all day
8. Jamie wiping out the food door lazy susans with the t-shirt she was wearing around her neck
9. Missy’s hair blowing in the breeze from the window of room four
10. Burrito lying down, holding his feet with his hands
Diana
