Do you have a “focus” face? Where you’re intensely focusing on a task, and somehow making a face (like sticking your tongue out, or squinting your eyes) feels like it is helping you accomplish it? Sometimes I do, and I recently noticed that Lucky seems to have one when she was VERY focused on grooming. I was walking through, greeting the chimps after first arriving at the sanctuary for the day. Lucky poked a bamboo stick through the caging towards me, and wanted to groom. I thought she wanted to groom my arm, but when I turned to the side to allow her to do that, she started reaching towards my radio with her tool. When I realized that’s what she wanted, I held my radio out for her to groom, and she was immediately focused in on the blinking red light at the top of the radio. Whenever she got her bamboo stick just right where she was able to poke the red light, she would scrunch up her face a little bit, and curl her tongue over her top teeth. Check out today’s video to see Lucky inspecting and grooming all of the different grooves, buttons, and her favorite, the blinking red light!
George Explores The Bray
We have very exciting news to share…George has gotten his first experience exploring The Bray, one of our outdoor habitats! We have been preparing him for this moment for several weeks by teaching him about the electric fences that serve as the barrier of the habitat (see this post to learn more about fence training). The big day arrived, and we were all excited (and a little nervous) to see him explore this large outdoor space for the first time. See the video here!
We stationed caregivers around The Bray to monitor him as he explored, and were thrilled when he stepped out into the large, open habitat within moments of the door opening. He has amazed us with his bravery in every new experience at the sanctuary so far, and today was no exception. Not only did George step out into his new space, he truly explored it. Some captive chimpanzees, who have lived their lives in enclosures with closed tops and limited exposure to grass, can take days, weeks, months, or even years to find the confidence and comfort to be in such an open space. I have personally known chimpanzees that after many years in sanctuary still are not comfortable walking on grass, or being in open-top spaces without having the security of caging to hold onto (almost as if they are afraid they could “fall up”). To see George step out onto the boardwalk, then into the grass, was truly special. But he didn’t stop there. He climbed the first structure, all the way to the top! He took his first (of many, we hope) walks around The Bray, going to greet Caregiver Krissy who was monitoring him from outside the fences. After walking with her for awhile, he turned around, and minutes later was walking up the other side of The Bray with Caregiver Diana, all the way to the top to see Caregiver Dusty. He foraged for food we spread out on The Bray for him, food grunting as he ate his cherries (one of his favorite foods). Many of us remarked on how brave he was, to be exploring this new space with such confidence and curiosity, and to be doing so alone. Chimpanzees (much like us) often rely on their friends for reassurance to do hard things, but George conquered The Bray all on his own. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for him once he has chimpanzee friends, and we are certain he will continue to amaze us with his courage and enthusiasm in meeting every new experience offered to him.
Peace and Quiet
Working with chimpanzees is often a loud job. Whether it be pant hoots of excitement, loud foot stomps or banging during a display, food grunts and squeaks during a good meal, laughter during a bout of play, or even screaming during an altercation – things can get loud! The rarity of truly quiet moments just makes them all the more special. In today’s blog video, enjoy some moments of peace and quiet with the chimpanzees.
Here are some bonus photos from today!
Dora enjoys a sweet potato.
Willy B takes a nap.
A close up of Annie.
Terry enjoying a frozen pineapple top.
Lucky Day
I recently was graced with a sweet and fun play session with Lucky! See today’s video to join in on the fun. Usually when Lucky wants to spend time together, she invites me to groom, so this was an extra special treat. She loved being tickled with a durable spoon, and we drew a small crowd of chimps as the play session went on who wanted to join in on the fun…Gordo, Cy, and Terry all wanted to be involved at different points (and got some one-on-one time once Lucky and I were done!). I’d like to credit my original chimp friends from Chimp Haven (Agnes and Juan especially) for teaching me all the best chimp tickle spots. Lucky seemed to approve.
I thought I’d also provide a brief George update as I know he has many friends that are wishing him all the best. He is getting more and more comfortable in his new home and exploring his surroundings by the day! We have been thrilled to see him start nesting (to learn more about nesting and see it in action, see previous posts here and here), both with blankets and paper. We learned that he enjoys paper towels and uses them to wipe his hands and face, especially after his morning smoothie to take care of that pesky smoothie mustache.
It’s easy to see how George has captured the hearts of so many, he is such a sweet and gentle individual. We are enjoying getting to know him, and hope you all are enjoying getting to know us and the other 15 chimpanzees, 3 cows, and one very handsome barn cat (aptly named Barn Kitty – pictured below) who also call CSNW home! We are so happy to have you here!
Being Silly with Willy
Check out today’s blog video for some silly antics with Willy B and Honey B!
Settling in with George
In today’s blog video, see how George is starting to settle into life at CSNW!
I’ve been thinking a lot about George and all that awaits him. I am especially excited to see what he thinks of The Bray, which got me thinking about Willy B’s many (some recent!) milestones exploring The Bray. Here are a few more photos from his big adventure to the top of The Bray recently!
Marvelous Miss Mavis
Some of the greatest joys of being a chimpanzee caregiver are all the little moments spent with the chimps each day… games of chase, tickles, grooming, kisses (safely, to the backs of our hands), breathy-panting, and getting to be downright silly with our chimpanzee friends every day. And we get paid to do it! In today’s blog video, join me for a surprise (to me) play session with Mave!
Mave is someone who does not often seek attention from me, and that’s okay! It is completely up to her who she wants to interact with and when, and oftentimes she prefers the company of her chimpanzee friends to the humans. So imagine my surprise when I arrived at the sanctuary one morning and there she was, breathy panting and head bobbing…at me! I looked around briefly to see if it was directed at someone else, before realizing my time had come. I dropped everything I was doing and accepted that we’d be running a little bit behind schedule that morning, because that’s what you do when Mave wants to play!
