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chimpanzee
Infinity Scarf
Volunteer Connie was telling Jackie and myself about these neat things called “infinity scarves.” They are made out of t-shirts and look pretty fashionable in my opinion. We thought the chimps might enjoy one so we decided to make one out of an old style CSNW shirt. Jackie and Connie took it into the chimp area to stretch it out and see if anyone was interested in playing. To everyone’s shock, Negra was interested in playing a game of tug-o-war. She does not play very often with caregivers, and definitely not for long periods of time. This game went on for infinity! What’s even more interesting is that Negra woke up on the wrong side of the nest today—she was a little grumpy all morning. I’m glad we were able to cheer her up!
Peering in Silhouette
Peering is one of my favorite chimpanzee behaviors. It is related to peering as we commonly understand it (looking intently at something), but it has a more narrow usage with chimpanzees. Chimpanzees often peer when they would like another chimpanzee to share some of their food. Rather than asking for some, they stare at the food as if it is some mysterious substance from outer space, sometimes getting as close as a few inches from the other chimp’s mouth. As a result, the peering chimp annoys the other chimp into either turning away or reluctantly giving up some of their food.
Today, Negra was enjoying a piece of ice from Young’s Hill while Jody peered at her. Peering can go on for an awfully long time, long enough to make me uncomfortable just watching it. I’m not sure whether Negra ever gave Jody a piece of the ice.
Mama Foxie
It’s really hard to say if Foxie would have made a good mother, but one thing is for sure, her babies would be getting lots of fresh air and sunshine these days!
Besties on the hill
I have been completely amazed at how much time the chimps have been spending on the hill these days! The other day it was cold, cold, cold. But Annie, Missy, Jody, Foxie, and Jamie (or the “Young’s Hill superstar five”) spent almost 2 hours out there! Missy and Annie ran around playing chase and wrestling with one another the whole time. Jody, Jamie, and Foxie jumped in the games at various times, but Annie and Missy didn’t stop… maybe because they are best friends, or maybe it was just a great way to stay warm! Either way, they seemed to be having a blast!
The games rapidly alternated between Annie chasing Missy, and Missy chasing Annie
As the chaser, Missy’s technique to slow Annie down was to grab at her feet
Missy chased and wrestled with Annie on this climbing structure for a long time. They went ’round and ’round and ’round until Annie was able to escape onto the nearby rope bridge
Giant box enrichment
The other day, Denice and I filled a giant refrigerator box with all of the chimps’ enrichment and blankets. Not surprisingly, Jamie was pretty interested. But Jody, Missy, Foxie, and Negra showed some interest as well!
Missy’s “snowboarding”
If you saw the blog a few days ago, you may have noticed Missy’s spectacular balancing skills. I caught a whole series of her acrobatic moves, and it almost looks like she’s snowboarding.
