Cle Elum Seven
Fun with trolls
I was thinking today about how incredibly playful Foxie is. She is the most playful adult chimpanzee I have ever known. She doesn’t seem to have non-playful days, ever. When she’s not playing with Jamie, Jody, Missy or Burrito, she play games of catch-the-troll with her caregivers. And if we’re busy? Well, she just invents her own troll games, like this one this morning…
Jamie’s casual cleaning style
As we’ve mentioned numerous times on the blog, Jamie is almost constantly busy doing something. And she definitely has her own style during her activities.
Burrito grooming Negra
Nothing like a good face-grooming in the afternoon
Jody and the toy chimpanzee
Jody didn’t quite know what to make of the plastic chimp toy we put out for enrichment the other day. She decided to take things into her own hands and threw a “car” at the toy.
She got out of the way in case the toy retaliated.
Foxie playing in the mirror
Today I discovered a new game with Foxie. I was having difficulty throwing her troll doll back to her (some days my aim is just off), so I put it in a sock and tossed it up, my thought being that she would have more to grab on to. It worked like a charm, and Foxie actually really liked the sock! She almost immediately flung it over her neck, walked down the stairs and began playing with it in front of the mirror. I am sure other chimpanzees have done this before, but it was the first time I have personally seen a chimp play in front of a mirror. She was so enamored with her own reflection playing, that she completely ignored Missy’s attempts to get her attention. For the rest of the day, Foxie carried around the sock, sometimes in her hand, sometimes over her shoulders, and once on the top of her head. Every once in a while she would go back to the mirror and play.
Lessons from chimpanzees
When I am feeling down, I think about the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees at CSNW and everything they have been through in their lives.
I am amazed and humbled that Jody, after decades of living in a small cage in a medical laboratory, after having seven babies taken from her, can still enjoy relaxing in the February sun, holding her feet:
and Foxie, who endured research protocols, five babies being taken from her, and periods of social isolation, can greet each day with the desire to play with her caregivers and her chimpanzee friends
and Missy and Annie, who spent years without each other, can decide to sleep in together, napping in the side-by-side nests they created in the playroom
When I think about my chimpanzee friends and their lives, I realize I have little to complain about. And, if I can remember to live for today as they do, each day should include relaxation, happiness, play and companionship.
