Just earlier this week I posted a video I caught of Foxie using exaggerated signals to get Negra to play with her. Today, it was Missy initiating the play with Foxie! And of course, Foxie couldn’t resist.
chimpanzee sanctuary
It’s Good to Be the Queen
People are often surprised to learn that Negra is kind of a powerhouse of personality. Yes, she’s the grandma of the group, and yes, she has an endearingly sweet face, but Negra is a force to be reckoned with. She knows what she wants, and she sees no reason why she should have to wait. Negra is not the leader of the Cle Elum Seven (Jamie would be horrified to hear me even suggest such a thing), but she has her own kind of power. Perhaps because she’s the oldest, or maybe just because of her supreme confidence, Negra is universally respected. There’s a good reason we call her the Queen!
When Negra wants to be groomed, she will walk up to one of the other chimpanzees and plant herself down unceremoniously in front of them. The message is always received; I can’t think of a single time this strategy hasn’t worked for her. If Negra wants to be groomed, Negra will be groomed. Even boss Jamie can’t say no.
Paper, it’s fun and practical!
As JB mentioned in his blog post last month about power, mornings at the sanctuary can often be determined by the luck of the draw. Today I should have played the lottery because I was blessed with good weather, good moods, and good enrichment.
If you’re a long time reader of the blog you’ll be familiar with the concept of enrichment and how central it is to engaging the chimpanzees actively in their environment. If you’re new here I encourage you to explore to find older entries we’ve written about it, like this one. We try to provide new and engaging activities and items for the chimpanzees on a regular basis to help mitigate the boredom that can result from captivity. To that end, we have an enrichment calendar to schedule themes for creating the daily enrichment that the chimpanzees are given; it helps us stay creative.
Today’s theme was lots of paper, and yes, it’s been done before, but the reprise was just as good as the original, if you ask these chimpanzees. Of course, you don’t have to take my word for it, you can see it for yourself in the video below!
Second Thoughts
Jody sometimes showers her caregivers with a mouthful of water. She has this hobby in common with many other captive chimpanzees, who often find creative ways to express themselves.
Jody fills her mouth up with water at one of the wall-mounted water spigots in the chimps’ enclosure, and holds onto it for awhile, mouth bulging, apparently waiting for the perfect time to let it fly. But sometimes, we caregivers are spared when Jody seems to have second thoughts. Maybe she’s waited so long with the mouthful of water that she can’t remember why exactly she felt such an urgent need to spit it in the first place. Maybe she just decides we’re not worth the effort. In these instances, she dips her head down slightly and lets the water fall gently from her mouth in a perfect stream.
The last day of winter!
Finally, the official end to winter is upon us and the first day of spring arrives tomorrow! The chimpanzees have been very quiet today and have spent most of the day lounging in the warm greenhouse and playroom, in between “sun showers” and brief runs on Young’s Hill. There has been a lot of grooming with each other and their caregivers, stretching out lazily in cozy nests, and just gazing out the windows. Jamie, of course, has still managed to get several walks around the hill in with her caregivers. In between projects of her own making she has also successfully managed to keep track of everyone else and what we are all doing. It’s hard work being the boss. But her ability to pull it all off as only Jamie can is never questioned.
I can’t wait to see what another spring in sanctuary brings for the chimpanzees and their lives. Something tells me it’s going to bring even more forms of growth and renewal for them.
St. Patrick’s Day Party – in brief verse
There were seven chimps of Cle Elum
Who were ready for breakfasts of melon.
The party was set
In the greenhouse the fete.
At foraging they were excelling!
And, yes, I apologize in advance for my less then ideal rhymes, it’s very difficult to come up with words that rhyme with Cle Elum. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all!!
Annie forages for nuts in a sock:
Foxie forages for strawberries on the wooden platform:
(Jody’s drinking from a tiny cup in the background.)
Jamie takes up two chairs while she forages for treats:
Negra forages for chow with the bamboo behind her:
Missy forages for treats from the party bags:
Jody forages for fruit on the platform in the greenhouse:
Burrito also forages, but for chow, on the platform:
Jamie
Missy
Negra
Jody
Foxie
Burrito
Annie
Scale
We tend to use the zoom lens when taking photos of the chimpanzees on Young’s Hill. This allows for a close-up view of the chimps, but doesn’t give much of a sense of what it’s like to see the chimps on two acres of land. Some of my favorite photos are those in which the chimps are just specks on the larger landscape.
Foxie and Missy:
Jamie, Missy, and Jody:
Jamie:
Negra:
Missy and Foxie:
Jamie:
