Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
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Foxie loves playing chase with her caregivers. To start a game, she passes one of her dolls to us and then runs or spins away. As she waits for us to catch up, she takes a big gulp of water from the fountain and holds it in her mouth. Is it because all that running makes her thirsty? Perhaps. Does she think it’s funny to keep her caregivers guessing as to whether she’ll swallow that mouthful of water or spit it in our faces? Definitely.
Your daily dose of playful rescued chimpanzees, brought to you by Missy and Annie.
It all started with Jamie insisting we go for a walk around Young’s Hill. For those of you new to the blog, Jamie chimpanzee loves for us humans to wear her favorite boots and join her on her perimeter patrols (humans on one side of the electric fences, Jamie on the other). I did the usual, trying to guess which ones she wanted me to put on. After a few failed attempts, Elizabeth and I figured it out. She wanted the purple pair, her newest and currently, most favorite boots (thanks Kimber!). So, I grabbed them from the sink where they were being cleaned and rinsed them off. Before I could even tell her they were too wet for me to put on, and that I would just be carrying them, she was gone. I walked out the door to the other side of the fence to join her. She’d already made it most of the way up one side of the hill by that time. She waited for me to catch up before continuing on her perimeter patrol.
When we got back to the Greenhouse, she made the gesture that she wanted to see the boots for a little grooming.
Meanwhile, Missy was busy, running back and forth from the top of the hill back down and then from one side to the other. She stopped every so often to look back over her shoulder, perhaps to see if there was something she missed while she was running. I watched her for a bit and caught her in the following stance and wondered what she was looking at. Perhaps, she was practicing her stance She looked pretty intent on something. What could it be?
Of course!!! It was her dear friend Annie running up the hill towards her.
A game of chase ensued, all the way back to the Greenhouse.
Missy and Annie covered nearly every inch of Young’s Hill today during a spirited game of chase.
After being chased across the field, Annie took to the climbing structure, and Missy followed.
Another dash across the field.
And then another climbing structure.
Annie tried to get away to the shaky bridge but Missy got her by the foot.
But then it all ended in classic Missy style as she crashed end-over-end onto the bridge…with a smile.
If you’re subscribed to our e-newsletter, you read about this rambunctious play between Annie and Foxie yesterday and what it says about how things have changed between these two in the last few years at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. Subscribe here if you’re not already signed up to receive updates!
Today at the end of our staff meeting, Jamie started stomping in the playroom loft. As we’ve figured out, this seems to mean “please put on one of my boots and chase me around the hill.” We thought it would be fun if we ALL played this game with her. As we all started walking out there, Jamie’s hair stood straight on end and she ran so fast out to meet us—she was so excited! It was a lot of fun, and probably the best staff meeting we’ve ever had. I think Jamie would agree.
This has been a long, snowy couple of months. But at last, the sun is out and the snow is gone…at least for now. The chimps have been celebrating this week by running, spinning, leaping, and climbing all over Young’s Hill.
OK, not everyone ran. Jody walked. But it was a brisk walk.
Foxie brought along a troll. Dora had to wait inside.
Burrito was all over the place, which is still so exciting to see. He soaked in some sun in Negra’s Cabin.
And climbed from platform to platform.
Negra even spent some time outside in the sun this morning but you’ll have to take my word for it. We don’t often get photos of Negra when she’s out because she doesn’t seem to tolerate the paparazzi the way the others do.
Missy and Annie chased each other over every inch of the hill, smiling the entire time.
I don’t know why Jamie doesn’t engage in this kind of rambunctious play outside. For whatever reason, she prefers to have the staff and volunteers chase her around the hill when she wants to blow off some steam. Volunteer Seana was happy to oblige, but she ended up with more a workout than she was expecting. Jamie first chased her clockwise around the 2-acre enclosure.
Then when they got back to the bottom, Jamie turned around and ran the whole thing in reverse. This pattern continued until Seana and Jamie were exhausted.
