I would lie around and look at myself in the mirror if I were as gorgeous as Jody Chimpanzee as well.
chimpanzee sanctuary
Bubbles and Paper Towels
As mentioned earlier, today was sponsored by Sweethome Teacup and the North Portland Yoga Community, with the hopes that the chimps would be “at ease, curious and content” all day. The chimps have definitely been at ease and content! They’ve been doing a lot of relaxing today, and I even witnessed Jody doing her happy baby pose in the greenhouse this morning, much like the one in the photo in the previous post! So, it really has been a very mellow, zen-like day. Thanks, Sweethome!
Yesterday was pretty mellow too. We put out buckets of plant-based, chimp belly-friendly soapy water and a whole roll of paper towels. This resulted in quite a few different “projects” that kept the chimps pretty enriched and content all day long. If Jamie wasn’t cleaning a toy or a wall off, she was busy wiping her hands and nose.
Easter egg hunt
(Be sure to check out the earlier post with pictures of the party set-up).
Happy Easter! Today we had a big Easter egg hunt on the hill for the chimps. They seemed to really enjoy it. We kept the fun going and had another forage in the playroom, too! When you’re done looking at all the photos, watch the video at the end to see the chimps getting some Easter goodies.
Burrito with an Easter egg basket:
Negra drinking some water out of a watering can (while sitting in her cabin)
Jamie also liked this watering can, and Jody is here peering on:
Annie really liked a different watering can:
Foxie and Annie:
Foxie walking with Negra:
Jamie in the cabin:
Jamie found all our good hiding spots!
Missy with an Easter egg in her mouth:
Negra, looking very happy with her Easter egg:
iPad project is underway
If you can’t tell by now, I’m pretty excited about the iPad we got from Orangutan Outreach! Thanks to Jody for the case and mount, and Shelly for the iTunes giftcard, I’ve been able to load up the iPad with tons of apps that I’m excited to see the chimps interact with. Yay!
This morning, Jackie, myself, and volunteer caregivers Steph and Erin all spent awhile seeing how the chimps liked the iPad in its new case. Jody, Burrito, Foxie, and Jamie all came over to touch it and check it out (see this photo from our Facebook page).
Chimps naturally have super curious minds. When they see something new, usually their first reaction is what I sometimes call “quality control“—testing out how it works and if it’s sturdy. So, everyone who came over first tried to pick at the case (which is exactly why we wanted it in the first place!) but eventually they all showed some interest in the different apps, especially Jamie. Her favorites right now are a xylophone app, and one called “Catch the mouse” which is a game for cats! But she seems to get some enjoyment out of squishing the little mouse 🙂 Stay tuned for more updates on this really exciting project.
New iPad thanks to Apps for Apes! (and a plea for a chimp-proof case)
(UPDATE: Thank you Jody! We’ve got our case on the way! If you want to still support the fun iPad project—we could use some iTunes giftcards for cool apps! You can send an e-card to [email protected])
A few weeks ago, Orangutan Outreach reached out to us after seeing my blog post about wanting an iPad for Jamie (and the other chimps, too!) They have this great program called “Apps for Apes” (featured on NBC news) which has mostly been used in zoos and with orangutans. The Center for Great Apes is involved in the program and they are a sanctuary for both chimps and orangutans, but we’re the first sanctuary to be involved with only chimps. I’m really excited to see what apps they want to interact with the most! Orangutan Outreach raises awareness about orangutan conservation while also providing great enrichment for captive orangutans. Their project falls perfectly in line with what we have going on with Eyes on Apes, our advocacy group.
Here’s me (so excited!) with the iPad. I set a photo from today’s earlier blog post of Jody as the background:
And here volunteer Deb and myself show Jamie and Foxie the iPad.
I can’t WAIT to be able to let the chimps touch the iPad themselves. First we need to have a durable case so we can safely have it against the fencing and the chimps won’t break it 🙂
J.B. has done a bit of research and this is what we’ve decided will be the best option: Life Jacket Waterproof Case. We’d like the case as well as the extra mounting bracket which is an additional cost. If someone would be willing to donate the case, the mounting bracket, (or both!) I would be forever thankful (and so would the chimps!)
Though we don’t know for sure exactly what will happen when they’re able to interact with it themselves, I imagine based on how enriching it is just to look at, that they’ll be very interested to touch it!
Negra hangin’ out at the cabin
If you saw the blog the a couple weeks ago, we got pretty excited because Negra finally went into her cabin! Yesterday Jackie captured a short video of Negra sitting in her cabin. After hanging out in there for a while, she walked around it, stopped to look at Jody through the clear lexan panel, and then sat down next to it with a really sweet and content face.
Communication
We often refer to one of the chimpanzees “asking” us for something – Jamie frequently asks us for a cowgirl boot, Foxie for a troll doll, etc. Luckily for us, the absence of speech does not always impede communication. The chimps have a wide array of behaviors they use to get our attention: foot stomps, head slaps, claps, raspberry sounds, and head nods, to name a few. Jamie is a stomper, while Foxie and Missy usually employ a vigorous head nod when they want something.Â
In this video, taken right after the chimps were given access to the freshly cleaned playroom, Foxie spies an unclaimed Brazil nut. She’s hesitant to grab it since boss Jamie is sitting nearby, so she makes sure to “ask” Jamie’s permission first.
