Listen to these two laughing…
St. Patrick’s Day
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!
Negra’s nest
The other night, while doing chimp counts during closing rounds, I climbed a ladder to look in the loft and found Negra building this magnificent nest.
There are a number of theories as to why chimpanzees build nests. Since most free-living chimpanzees build their nests high up in the trees at night, it’s possible that nest-building evolved to help protect chimpanzees from ground-dwelling predators or to avoid biting insects. There is also evidence to suggest that nests aid in thermoregulation. And these theories aren’t incompatible with the idea that chimpanzees also build nests because they are comfortable. Who doesn’t want a good night’s sleep?
At CSNW, we give out more than 70 clean blankets over the course of each day. If distributed evenly, that would be at least 10 per chimp – more than enough to make a comfortable nest, with some left over to use on top. But some of the Cle Elum Seven chimps, like Foxie, don’t really nest at all, while others, like Burrito, only use a few blankets. That leaves more for the master nest builders like Negra.
The chimps’ night nests are almost always made from blankets, but day nests are often made with other materials, such as bamboo, hay or straw, paper, cardboard, sand, fire hoses, and on at least one occasion, every single present given to the chimps for Christmas.
The great thaw
We’re nearing the end of the chimps’ ninth winter here at CSNW and while chimpanzees aren’t naturally cold weather animals, they have adapted quite well. When the first snowflakes fall each year, the chimps food grunt in anticipation of the endless snow and ice snacks that winter brings. As temperatures begin to plunge, they make cozy nests on the heated playroom catwalks and bask in the radiant warmth of the greenhouse.
This winter, however, is really testing the patience of the chimps and their caregivers alike. While most of the country is enjoying an early spring, our tiny little corner of the Pacific Northwest has been stuck with temperatures 15-20 degrees below average for months on end.
But that just makes each glimpse of spring that much more enjoyable.
As the snow melts, more trails are uncovered. The chimps launched out the door this morning knowing that more of Young’s Hill would be open to exploration. Burrito always knows how to make an entrance.
Females often greet male chimps with a submissive crouch, particularly when those males are exhibiting signs of physiological arousal like piloerection (hair standing on end). This, I believe, is not so much a sign of respect as it is self-preservation. You don’t want to get run over by a male chimp in full display.
For chimps, emotional moments are almost always shared through touch. As Robert Yerkes once said, “One chimpanzee is no chimpanzee.”
Missy and Jamie learned to navigate the hill using the fire hose vines years ago, but now others like Jody and Annie (pictured here) are joining in.
After touching nearly every fire hose and climbing almost every structure on the hill, Jamie seemed thoroughly satisfied.
Foxie and Burrito were not content to only freeze their butts off in the snow, so they made snowballs and ate them too.
One of Annie’s favorite places to sit is high up on the edge of a beam looking out over the Yakima River valley. Sometimes she closes her eyes and tilts her head up to the sun. I imagine that she, like us, enjoys feeling the warmth of the sun’s rays on her skin and seeing the patterns that the light plays on the back of her eyelids.
For the love of boots
Volunteers Stephanie and Patti brought Jamie a western wear catalogue today. It’s always amazing to watch her flip through the magazine and linger over the pages with her favorite boots.
Balancing act
Each time we build a new play structure on Young’s Hill, we connect it to nearby structures using fire hose. This allows the chimps to move from place to place without touching the ground, a feature that is particularly handy when that ground is covered in snow. We also shovel pathways for them, but hey, tightrope walking is way more fun.
Their balance is incredible, aided in part by those opposable big toes.
And when they lose their balance, they can always fall back on their superhuman strength.
Lunch Forage
The chimps would like to wish an early happy birthday to a not-so-secret admirer. Dr. Elliott Sumers has a birthday coming up in a couple of days and his wife Anne made a generous donation in his honor.
We’ll have an “official” celebration on Sunday, but wanted to start by sharing some photos of the chimps enjoying lunch in the greenhouse from today. We had a bit of a break from the winter weather and the sun was strong midday. The chimpanzees, as you can see, definitely appreciated it.
Negra:
Annie:
Jody:
Missy:
Guess who?:
Jamie:
Burrito:
