The chimps were outside bright and early this morning to welcome the return of the sun to Central Washington.
chimp enrichment
Tool use
Chimpanzees are famous for their ability to use tools, but some individuals are more skilled than others. We know that human talent is a combination of genetics, early life experience, and practice, and the same is true with chimpanzees, I believe.
Jamie loves using tools. She could spend all day working on a project. I don’t think she’s as interested in the end result as she is in the process. Sometimes, when we are serving food, we accidentally drop a few pieces on the floor outside the enclosure. Jamie will spend the rest of the mealtime working to get those pieces, even though her caregivers are still giving out food.
Burrito, on the other hand, is just not a tool user. He has very limited patience, and he doesn’t seem to get that same flash of insight that spurs chimpanzees like Jamie to go fetch an appropriate tool. This doesn’t necessarily mean he is less intelligent. Most of the time, begging humans for help works just fine. But it does give you an idea why Burrito is not the alpha that he would like to be – Jamie is always one step ahead of him!
Foxie and Jamie playing with Diana
The other day, Diana was playing chase with Foxie when Jamie decided to join in on the fun. Many of the chimps at CSNW will wear clothing when they are feeling playful. In this video, you’ll notice Jamie tying a sarong around her waist just before she invites Diana to chase her.
Missy’s icy chase game
Yesterday, Missy spent some time outside playing chase with JB. It was a bit of a slippery slope for JB, though! š
Why it’s called enrichment
Foxie loves troll dolls and seems to always be thinkingĀ of new things to do with them. The video below shows her playing with me this morning. Clearly, the term “enrichment” applies to troll dolls – they certainly do enrich Foxie’s life (and mine as a result).
Foxie and her troll dolls from Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest on Vimeo.
Phantom Nesting
Although we have never witnessed Burrito build his own nest with blankets, as we have mentioned in other blog posts, he will often sleep in someone elses’ nest. Today, I caught Burrito engaging a behavior we, at CSNW, call Phantom Nesting. This is a behavior both he and Foxie occasionally do, which involves clapping and running their clasped hands along the fence, the wall, and/or the floor. Interestingly, this is not a behavior that is seen in the wild, and is rarely seen at all. As far as we know, the behavior has only been observed in a few captive individuals, but definitely seems to be related to nesting.
*Editor’s Note (from Diana): we don’t know much about this behavior. We’d love to hear from others who work with chimpanzees both in captivity and in the wild to find out if you’ve observed nesting behavior in the absence of “normal” nesting material and/or if you’ve seen the same clapping and arm movements described above and shown in the video below.
Negra thanks you
Below is the photo of Negra taken on the first day she was in sanctuary and a photo taken just an hour ago. Negra continues to change. She’s been very playful and more active this winter than last. She still avoids conflict and likes to have blankets over her head. She has her favorite foods. And she still loves to see humans dance for her.
Negra’s continued signs of contentment are all because of the support that we have had from so many. Without individual donations, theĀ sanctuary and the quality care that we provide would still be a figment of our imaginations. So much has happened in such a short amount of time, thanks to you all!
Today I wanted to say a special birthday thanks from Negra to a couple of people who are helping to get the stories of the Cle Elum Seven out into the world. Kathy Cochran, whose birthday is today and Margaret Parkinson, who celebrated her birthday on December 31st. These two remarkable ladies collaborated to create the book, Sanctuary: Year One that we have for sale in our online store. Thank you both and happy birthdays!
Negra on her first day at the sanctuary, after living in laboratories for decades
Negra tonight, finishing up the seeds from her night bag
