It’s raining fairly steadily at the sanctuary today, but there’s still enough snow sticking around for us to give the chimpanzees! In addition to buckets of snow we also scattered alfalfa cubes in the playroom for the chimpanzees to forage. Jody got creative with the two snack options and alternated between bites of alfalfa and scoops of snow. She also had a towel handy to wipe her hands off after each scoop!
Playful Jamie
Chimpanzees exhibit a variety of innate behaviors and vocalizations in different contexts. During play, for example, chimpanzees will often head nod to one another and laugh, which for a chimpanzee is a breathy pant with the top teeth covered by the upper lip. In grooming, chimpanzees will often lip-smack, teeth-clack, or blow raspberries. These behaviors seem to be used to communicate with other individuals that they are interacting in a certain context. Co-director Diana wrote a blog entry last year on grooming, which includes more detailed information about these behaviors and what they mean. As caregivers, we also use these behaviors and vocalizations during interactions to connect with the chimpanzees using their communication methods, which helps build rapport.
In the following video, Jamie plays with staff caregiver Elizabeth. In the beginning of the clip you can hear Elizabeth breathy panting during this tug-of-war/tickle interaction. Jamie then decided that intern Holly’s boot needed some TLC, so look closely at Jamie’s face and mouth to see her lip smacking as she grooms.
Burrito’s Tug-of-War Massage
Today before lunch Burrito and staff caregiver J.B. played a nice long game of tug-of-war with a scarf. Burrito will often wrap the scarf around various parts of his body during this game so the caregiver can give him a little massage. Today he wanted to focus on his upper back and arms.
Dora Snuggles
The chimpanzees seem to be enjoying the heated floors as colder weather moves in. We found Jamie snuggled up with some blankets and a Dora doll this morning:
Bub in the Photo Studio
This afternoon Burrito was hanging out in the “photo studio” (one of the chimpanzees’ front rooms named for its perfect lighting for pictures), so I decided to snap a few portraits!
Forages All Day
Each day there is a theme for the enrichment we give the chimpanzees. Having a daily theme helps to ensure that the chimpanzees do not receive the same items each day and also helps keeps life for them interesting. We always try to include favorites, such as boots and troll dolls, and of course they receive many fresh blankets each day so they can make cozy nests. In addition to these staple items we might wrap their toys in blankets for them to unwrap or decorate the floor with chalk art. Today the theme is “forage all day,” so the chimpanzees started their day with a breakfast forage in the greenhouse!
Annie (left) and Foxie (right):
Jamie (center) found an orange slice hidden in the hanging tire (Annie to her left, Foxie to her right):
Missy:
Negra:
Jody:
Burrito:
The Aftermath
From the looks of the greenhouse and playroom this morning, the Cle Elum Seven had a rocking Jamieween! Everyone seems a little sleepy today and many of the chimpanzees have spent the day resting in the warm chimp house.
Burrito:
Jamie, probably the least sleepy, after 4.5 walks around Young’s Hill:
Negra:
Jamie, Burrito and I went for a walk earlier this afternoon and I was able to snap some pictures of Missy gathering a bamboo snack (Annie is in the background):
Missy (left) and Annie (right) enjoying the view from Young’s Hill:
Foxie and Jody have been tucked away for most of the day so I was not able to get any pictures of them, but I can tell you that they look ever so cozy!
