Today as the chimps were waiting for their lunch to be served, I caught Missy playing with a red blanketed lump, also known as Negra Chimpanzee. It stood out as particularly funny to me because, although Negra loves to wrap herself (head and all) up in a blanket, and although lots of the chimps, particularly Missy and Jamie, often play with blankets over their heads, we don’t often see Negra playing like this. I love seeing Missy bring out Negra’s playful side!
chimpanzee rescue
Team Dora or Team Troll?
Foxie’s new love of Dora the Explorer continues, but that doesn’t mean she’s dropped troll dolls out of her life.
She spent some time with a Dora and a troll doll and a mirror today:
A sure sign of Foxie’s contentment is when she rubs her toes together, like in the photo below and in this video from a couple of years ago. If you’re wondering what the powdery stuff on Foxie’s feet is – it’s pollen. The pollen has been blowing off the trees like snow all week!
Foxie, Missy, and the Carrot
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such silly behavior revolving around food.
Foxie is a-Dora-ble
Foxie has received so many new Dora the Explorer dolls in the last week- mostly from her great friend, Leslie Sodaro, who has been collecting for the last several weeks. We tied several together with a string, which resulted in some a-DORA-bleness.
Foxie has such great friends! On behalf of the lady herself, thanks so much to all for keeping Foxie so happy and enriched!
Rock of Ages movie
Primate Patrol is CSNW’s advocacy program. Our goal is to provide the public with information on the plight of primates exploited in media, and alert subscribers to current issues with the use of primates in TV shows, movies, and advertisements. Sarah went undercover into a training facility in Hollywood and witnessed the trainers routinely abusing the chimpanzees. In addition to the welfare concerns with using primates in media, we also have to think in the long-term—where are they going to be sent once they are too big or too hard to handle? To learn more about these issues, check out Primate Patrol and sign up to receive alerts in your inbox. You can also Like us on Facebook!
Today I sent out the following alert, about a new movie premiering on June 15th:
Rock of Ages, a new film musical scheduled to premiere in June, stars a lot of famous human actors – and a baboon. Tom Cruise, one of the stars, stated in an interview that he requested to work with a monkey. When asked about preparing for his character, Cruise said that he thought one day “You know what? I need a monkey.†When asked to elaborate he stated, “When Stacee [Cruise’s character] is not onstage, he’s kind of sad. And I thought, ‘this guy has to have a monkey that’s his best friend.’ Adam [Rock of Ages’ director] found this baboon. He sent me the baboon’s audition tape, and I said, ‘the baboon’s name has to be Hey Man.’ Stacee Jaxx doesn’t work without Hey Man.†The baboon, Mickey, was also recently on the show Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. He was seen exhibiting abnormal behaviors and a fear grimace.
Please avoid contributing to the box office receipts for Rock of Ages – don’t go see it! Please spread the word to your friends and encourage them to boycott this movie with you. Let them know that monkeys should not be used in TV and film media, including the reasons listed above. Thank you for speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves!
If you have Twitter, go ahead and tweet that you won’t be seeing Rock of Ages because of the baboon actor. Example tweets:
Join me – don’t go see @rockofagesmovie because of their baboon “actor.â€
Stand against abuse of nonhuman primates. Don’t go see @rockofagesmovie! Please RT!
RT Please! Join @PrimatePatrol and don’t support @rockofagesmovie when it premieres June 15th.
A colorful, crunchy lunch
The chimps had what only could be described as a gorgeous lunch in the greenhouse today– mini bell peppers, carrots, rhubarb and red grapefruit. Not only was it delicious, but it was colorful too.
Annie and her mini bell peppers:
The rhubarb came from volunteer Renee’s garden. She brought it out yesterday when she came out to help me in the chimps’ garden (Thanks, Renee!). I’ve never thought the chimps liked rhubarb all that much, but they seemed to enjoy it today. Here’s Missy munching on hers:
Foxie was especially content with lunch. She kicked back with a couple of carrots
and you know you’ve done good when you catch her rubbing her troll’s belly.
Breakfast on the hill
If you “like” us on Facebook, you may have seen our update yesterday that the chimps got to enjoy breakfast in the sunshine on Young’s Hill. It was a gorgeous day– absolutely perfect for a tropical forage (coconuts, pineapple, and lettuce).