Jody is a pretty serious chimpanzee. She seems to take everything she does very seriously, whether it’s greeting a caregiver, playing (somewhat reluctantly) with one of the other chimps, or kicking back in a nest. This is one of the things I find (simultaneously) most intimidating and most endearing about Jody. Check out Jody’s “serious face”:
chimpanzee rescue
How to initiate play
Given the fact that Foxie is probably the most playful chimp I’ve ever known, normally one would not need the following instructions. But I suppose they could be good to keep around, just in case. 🙂
A relaxing day for Negra
Today was sunny and beautiful, so the greenhouse was a prime spot for everyone, especially Negra.
You may have heard us talk about Negra’s spot in the outdoor area, which is the southern most end of the deck. The sun beats in the greenhouse in that spot so it’s almost always a warm and inviting place to nap.
Negra spent almost the whole day relaxing there…. and today, no blankets were necessary!
(I think the next one is my favorite. I love the pointed toe!)
2:00pm- Yep. Same place… only this time, she looked like she was practicing her “happy baby” yoga pose:
She finally came inside to her other favorite spot and curled up with a soft yellow blanket:
Focus
Annie
Taking things apart
One of the practical problems of running a chimpanzee sanctuary involves creating a space that the chimps can’t destroy. Their superhuman strength combined with intelligence, curiosity, and a penchant for destruction keeps us on our toes. We’re very careful to maintain a safe (and sturdy) environment for the chimps, but sometimes there’s not much you can do when Jamie decides she wants to remove one of the baseboards, as in this video.
Foxie, the nest-builder
We love sharing stories with all of you about the chimpanzees’ daily experiences at the sanctuary. This pleasure is all the greater when we have something particularly exciting or momentous to share, as we do today.
Our frequent blog readers are familiar with the saga of Foxie’s nesting behavior. When Foxie came to CSNW, she wanted very little to do with any enrichment. Blankets, in particular, seemed almost offensive to her. If a blanket occupied the space where she wanted to rest, she would often flick it aside before sitting down. While some of the other chimps were making giant, cushy nests out of dozens of blankets, Foxie would build a “phantom nest”, showing ritualized nesting behaviors but using very little actual nesting material. She’s made slow and steady progress: she’ll incorporate the occasional toy or fire hose into her “nest”, and once or twice we’ve caught her with her head resting on the very edge of a blanket. But overall, she’s remained pretty steadfast in her distaste for blankets (or anything soft, it seems). Here’s a review of past blog posts that have highlighted Foxie’s nesting progress:
April 13, 2009
May 15, 2009
June 2, 2009
June 6, 2009
December 2, 2009
January 23, 2010
February 3, 2010
December 24, 2010
Considering all this, she surprised and delighted us all the other day when she went full steam ahead and built her first big, multi-blanket nest.