One of my favorite mood-lifters is watching Burrito eat. He’s not picky about food; he just wants as much as possible, as often as possible.
Foxie Saves Her Doll
Foxie has an interesting relationship with her dolls. At times she beats them with wooden spoons or bites their limbs off, and at other times she snuggles them to her chest and kisses them. They serve multiple functions: they’re playthings, they provide comfort and companionship, and they’re there when she feels the urge to nurture.
Play Initiation 101
When you’re the most playful guy around, you quickly perfect your play initiation strategies.
Happy 40th to Foxie!
Foxie is the youngest 40 year old I’ve ever known. In chimp years, she’s an old lady. But this old lady is a backflipping, pirouetting, chasing, wrestling whirlwind. She is happy and silly and loving and kind.
On the chimps’ birthdays, we do our best to make their days as joyous as possible, and Foxie’s day is easy to make. To put it simply, she loves dolls. (It might be more accurate to say she’s obsessed.) Supporters from all over have been mailing in dolls for months, and we saved them all up for today. I meant to count them this morning before we set up the party, but there had to be at least fifty: cheerleader trolls and monster trolls and bride and groom trolls and surfer trolls and rockstar trolls….
For this morning’s party we scattered apricots, apples, pears, figs, and raspberries in the greenhouse, and we poured fruit smoothie into troll doll heads (of course).
The smoothie trolls were a hit.
Foxie:
Burrito:
Annie:
Jamie:
Negra:
Missy, who took it upon herself to systematically undress all of the new troll dolls:
Burrito and Missy:
Jamie:
And the birthday girl:
And a bonus video of Foxie checking out some new dolls:
Happy Birthday, Fox. May you continue to shine bright.
Snapshots
It’s been a warm, sleepy, happy day at the sanctuary. Here are my favorite snapshots from today.
Negra waking up in the greenhouse this morning:
Boss Jamie with a rare playface:
BFFs Annie and Missy grooming:
Burrito in a quiet moment:
Foxie and Dora:
Jody enjoying some wild plants she harvested from Young’s Hill:
Starting the Day Off Right
Fruit smoothie is a perpetual highlight of the chimpanzees’ day.
Burrito and Becca play
One of Burrito’s favorite activities in the world is playing with his caregivers. Sometimes you can’t even walk by him without him stomping his foot and inviting you to play. This afternoon I caught him and volunteer caregiver Becca in a silly game.
