We’ve posted before about the chimps’ eyes, especially Jody’s, and how much expression they hold. Foxie definitely has a striking gaze, as you can see in these photos:
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Best of today
There were so many good photos of each of the chimpanzees that I had to share them all on today’s blog. It’s really hard to pick a favorite.
Annie’s beauty is beyond words.
Missy actually sat still long enough for us to get a few photos.
Foxie enjoyed her pears at breakfast. Perhaps they taste better by the mouthful.
Burrito spent part of the afternoon playing with his wooden blocks and his own arm.
Jamie took a moment to pose for the camera before going for a walk on Young’s Hill.
Jody took some time to groom herself and ponder her surroundings.
Negra in her favorite nesting spot on the catwalk.
Watching the sunset
Jamie has been really enjoying the slightly cooler fall evenings lately and has stayed out late pretty much every day this week! Staff (especially Katelyn and Elizabeth!) have been walking around the hill during these late evenings so much! Jamie normally heads in as the sun goes down, which this time of year is a quarter til 7 o’clock. However on Thursday night, she stayed out long past the sun went down and didn’t come inside until 7:30! Those walks were lit by just the moonlight. Thursday evening Katelyn got this photo from her phone which captured the moon shining down on Jamie.
Last night Jamie came in before it got really dark, but not before she contently watched the sun go down, while holding her current favorite boots.
Once the sun went behind the hills, she climbed down the platform and carried her boots in with her for the night.
But then she had to steal just one last glance at the sunset.
Missy in the portrait studio!
I’ve been trying for awhile to collect images of all the chimps in our “portrait studio” — it’s a spot on a bench in the front rooms right next to the window, which allows for the best lighting and background for close-ups of the chimps.
When the chimps first arrived, they spent a couple days in the front rooms before shifting into the playroom (to ease the transition into a big, expansive room—probably scary after years inside tiny cages) and so many of our photos of the chimps when they first arrived are on that bench. For some of them that was the first time in decades they’d had a chance to look out a window.
Anyway, a few months ago I complied some of the more recent portrait studio photos and compared them to the photos of the chimps from those first few days in sanctuary. The changes are so extraordinary! Missy, however, was absent from that post because we didn’t have a recent photo of her in that spot. She is always on the move and doesn’t sit on the bench long enough for us to grab the camera and get a good close-up. The other day, finally, Katelyn was able to snap a couple of quick photos of her before she jumped off. So, without further ado, I present you with Missy’s before-and-after comparison:
Missy, a couple days after the chimps’ arrival:
Missy, over six years later:
Foxie’s charm
The big charmer at CSNW is no doubt Mr. B (I mean, just look at his face!) but Foxie has a charm of her own, and she’s able to use it to socially manipulate the chimp in charge, which is no small feat. Jamie is not easily persuaded by anyone. However, Foxie tries to keep the peace when she can, and if she sees Jamie getting upset about something, she will stomp playfully in front of Jamie to try and change the context. Get her mind off of being upset, and instead, get her to play. Foxie uses her playful charm as a sort of “cease fire” signal.
Foxie decided to use this special ability to her advantage. Sometimes when she and Jamie are playing, Jamie will take one of Foxie’s beloved trolls, which will occasionally make Foxie whimper. It’s all part of the game though, and soon enough they are wrestling and tumbling and Foxie does eventually get her troll back. (Read more about that dynamic here). She seemed to be treating the coconut in this situation as one of those trolls. First she whimpers as if to say “please, I’d really like this coconut” and when that doesn’t work, she starts to play with Jamie.
In the end, Jamie held on to the coconut and was able to crack it open using a plastic chopstick and sheer force on the stairs. However, when it broke into a bunch of pieces, Foxie was able to grab a big chunk and Jamie had no problem with her taking her piece.
Starting the day out right
Burrito was the first chimpanzee I saw this morning. He was sitting in the last front room looking out the window with the morning light shining on his face. It was such a peaceful moment. And then we made eye contact; and from that moment on, he was ready to go. And by go, I mean ready to play. He took the little toy wooden block he had in his hand and put it in his mouth. Then he got up from the bench, gave a good foot stomp and ran out to the Greenhouse.
Who could resist an invitation to play a game of chase like that? So, I ran out to the human area next to the greenhouse and gave a good foot stomp. He ran back and forth along the platform, continuing to foot stomp along the way. As soon as I would catch up to him, he would quickly change direction and run the other way. In between running back and forth, he did a couple of play bows before running off again. We continued this for a few minutes before he sat down and put his back against the wire fencing, for me to give him a few knuckle rubs.
It’s moments like these that I find it so hard to imagine how he endured year after year, decade after decade in the tiny little cages he (and the other chimpanzees) lived in. Finally, he is able to wake up in the morning and start the day off with a good play session. To be able to run and play with the other chimpanzees and caregivers is what sanctuary is about.
Caregiver Katelyn was able to capture a few photos of him shortly after our play session. By that time he had changed his toy of choice to a hard plastic fish.
Point A to Point B
What is the quickest way to get from point A to point B?
Well, for Missy chimpanzee, that means taking the tight rope walk across the fire hose railing to get to the platform on top of the climbing structure.
Once she made it to the top platform, she took a moment to look out over the valley.
In the first picture, Annie and Foxie were also on the climbing structure. If you look close enough, you can see the blue hair of Foxie’s troll doll lying on Foxie’s back.
Annie (bottom left), Foxie (top left), Missy (far right).
