Burrito is often intimidated by new things, so while we all had high hopes, we never really expected him to explore Young’s Hill all too much (fun fact: almost ALL the caregivers wore Burrito shirts on day one of letting the chimpanzees out onto the hill. That was not planned– but a great way to cheer him on apparently, as he went right out when the door was opened!). He has completely surprised all of us and is surprisingly comfortable out there, though has never ventured too far away from the safety of the greenhouse. But as Diana mentioned in yesterday’s blog post, Burrito spent some significant time out there foraging and exploring areas we haven’t seen him explore yet, including the bamboo and the furthest climbing structure. The interesting thing is that Jamie was the one leading the way for him! While I wouldn’t call them enemies, I also wouldn’t call them the best of friends either. Jamie often picks on Burrito and treats him like her annoying little brother, so it was really nice to see that yesterday Jamie decided to treat him like a buddy.
Animal Welfare
Burrito and his popper toy
All the chimps have been in great moods today! (Check out the status update I posted this morning on our Facebook timeline).
Burrito spent probably an hour non-stop playing with this popper toy. He kept pushing it—with his hands and even on his head! He sat on it, carried it around with him, and seemed to be really enjoying himself. It was pretty hard to focus on getting the front rooms clean when we had to pause every couple minutes to laugh and be goofy with him.
The two sides of Annie
Sometimes Annie’s a lady…
…and sometimes she’s not.
Foxie and Burrito play
Jackie caught Foxie and Burrito being pretty silly the other day, paparazzi style.
Take Action Tuesday Post #1
For the past few months, I’ve been working on broadening our advocacy program, Primate Patrol, which currently focuses on the use of chimpanzees in entertainment. Our goal is to be a good resource for information about all chimpanzee issues, and to provide ways for you to take action and help. Stay tuned in the coming months for lots of great new stuff!
If you aren’t already subscribed to our Take Action newsletter list, please sign up today! Help us spread the word by getting your friends to sign up, too!
Now that I’ve introduced our plans for expansion, I’ll start what will be a regular blog entry: Take Action Tuesday. Every week, I will post advocacy related news and ways you can help.
This week’s topic is about roadside zoos and pseudo-sanctuaries, often a dumping ground for ex-pet or ex-entertainment chimps. This video on Facebook shows two chimps, Rocky and Kelby, who were both used in entertainment. Kelby was in movies such as Babe, Pig in the City and Buddy. Rocky was once owned by former chimp trainer Sid Yost. As you can see in the video, the cages are small and dirty.
Rocky and Kelby have lived in a number of different facilities. These two are currently living at Suncoast Primate Sanctuary (AKA Chimp Farm) – a substandard roadside zoo that puts its residents on display.
Suncoast Primate Sanctuary is also home to at least one infant chimpanzee. Many roadside zoos breed animals and advertise the babies as attractions. Facilities that breed their animals are perpetuating the sad cycle of captivity. The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (T.I.G.E.R.S.) is another pseudo-sanctuary, home to the orangutan Suryia (who was used in a commercial). The Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary, run by the last remaining circus trainers (the Rosaire-Zoppes) is home to Ricky the chimpanzee (featured on a book cover). All of these facilities breed their exotic animals and continue to exploit them for entertainment purposes. Reputable sanctuaries do not intentionally breed—producing babies whose fate is a lifetime of confinement is simply wrong.
What can you do to help chimps in roadside zoos? Speak up for these exploited animals, and spread the word. If a friend sends you a “cute†picture of a baby chimpanzee holding a tiger cub, take a moment to educate them about the truth behind pseudo-sanctuaries that promote those types of photos (See below for a sample message to send to your friends). Do your research before donating to any sanctuary and support rescue organizations that are committed to providing quality lifetime care.
Sample response to “cute†pictures from a pseudo-sanctuary:
Sadly, this picture is not cute and cuddly as it may appear. Portraying these exotic animals as cute and cuddly attractions seriously misinforms people about the true nature of these beings and perpetuates the pet and entertainment industries. Simply put, chimpanzees are not meant for our world and should not be in captivity. Infant chimpanzees should be with their chimpanzee mothers — not tiger cubs, dogs, or humans. Unfortunately, the facilities where these pictures originate are breeding exotic animals, which leads to a lifetime of unwarranted imprisonment for those animals. No respectable sanctuary would intentionally breed, nor would they put their animals on display or exploit them for entertainment purposes.
Today’s goofy play
Today, the chimpanzees were being pretty playful, especially Missy and Burrito. I wasn’t able to get the best video while trying to play tug-o-war with Missy, but I got a short clip. Burrito was playing a lot with Jackie at the barn doors. You’ll want to watch until the very end!
Fostering Friendships
Volunteer Katelyn is in training to be a caregiver. We like to think of training as not only a time to teach people about chimp behaviors and how to safely interact with the chimpanzees, but it’s also a time to foster new friendships. The process usually takes several months beginning with the trainee sticking close to the trainer until gradually the trainer gets further and further away and the trainee gains more independence. It’s a fun process to watch, especially when you watch the chimps become more and more comfortable with the person, and watching their friendship begin. That’s what I witnessed today with Katelyn. She hasn’t had many interactions with the chimpanzees, but today we spent a good deal of time interacting with almost everybody! We played tug of war with Missy and a sock, and Annie came over and tickled the back of Katelyn’s hand– a rare treat! Later, we spent some quality time with Foxie in the greenhouse. Foxie was so playful! She literally rolled the entire length of the deck during a chase game– a sure sign that Katelyn going to be a fun friend.
I feel I should point out that Katelyn and I are standing on different steps in the next couple of photos 😉
