Yesterday, Jackie and I put out a party with “Texas in a box” sent from Candy C. She also sent a DVD with line dancing for us to show the chimps. We thought Negra would like to see the dancing, so Jackie went to set up the TV so they could watch from the front rooms. We had come technical difficulties so instead decided to just do a video search on my iPad and show the videos to the chimps that way! Negra, Jamie, Foxie, and Burrito all showed interest. Jamie especially liked the boots the dancers were wearing. Thanks again Candy for sending us fun enrichment!
animal rescue
Enriching Negra
Negra doesn’t hang out with her human friends all too often, so when she’s in the mood to play (or to even just sit next to you), it’s a real treat. Lately, however I think she has been more interactive than usual, both with her human caregivers and with the other chimps. This morning while we were cleaning the playroom, I caught her casually spying on me through a mirror. At first I just greeted her with a head nod and she enthusiastically head nodded back, so I started dancing for her (Negra loves it when her caregivers dance and often bobs her head and moves with us a bit when we do). I think she was definitely enriched.
Slurp, slurp, slurp
Yesterday Jackie and I set up a great enrichment project for the chimps. We filled buckets with some snow and added a little juice for flavor, and then we put the buckets outside the caging and gave the chimps straws to use as tools. Everyone had their own way of trying to get the most out of the buckets. Eventually all the snow completely melted and the buckets were dry, but we certainly found a way for this project to last longer than just juice in buckets.
Jamie as chimpanzee
Jamie has always been the most human-like of the Cle Elum Seven. She often does human-like things (files her nails, ties shoelaces, sews); she’s always very interested in any cleaning, maintenance, or construction the humans around her might be doing; and sometimes she even seems to prefer the company of her human caregivers to that of the other chimpanzees. None of this is unusual for a chimpanzee who has grown up in a captive situation.
But on Young’s Hill, Jamie is all chimpanzee. Something about the wide open spaces or the natural surroundings seems to bring out a different side of her.
Chasing deer:
Hunting squirrels:
Fishing for treats on the treat rock:
Leading her friends on a walk:
Blanket fort fun
This morning we put a bunch of barrels together and made a blanket fort, with all the toys inside of the fort. Not surprisingly, Jamie was interested in checking things out.
Portraits of happy chimps under blue skies
Another Burrito day!
Burrito received an abundance of new toys, sponsors, and lots of love on his birthday. His new friend, Adrienne Armstrong, who sponsored the party and sent Burrito a lovely (and GIANT!) fruit basket, tried to get some new toys to us but unfortunately they didn’t get here in time. So in honor of new friends (and as an excuse to keep on partying!), we threw him another little party today. The chimps have been loving all the new stuff, especially Negra, who has been curled up with her new, super soft blankets all day.
Thanks so much Adrienne!
Your friend, Burrito