It’s hard to believe, but this young-at-heart chimpanzee is now 42 years old. Many thanks to Paulette for sponsoring this day in honor of her Pal!
coconut
Happy Birthday, Willy B!
Today is Willy B’s 34th birthday! We are so fortunate to be able to know, love, and care for this special chimpanzee. He certainly always keeps us on our toes, whether it be trying to understand the motivation behind some of his actions, or quite literally when he suddenly decides its time to play chase (never miss out on a game of chase with Willy B!)! There’s so much to love about Willy B from the silly faces he makes when he sees himself in a camera, the way he eats many crunchy foods (like fennel, with the side of his mouth munching on them like a rabbit), watching him crack open a coconut (see today’s video to enjoy this for yourself), his satisfied food grunts, his ever-growing bravery in conquering The Bray, witnessing all the small moments of friendship between him and the other chimps in his group, and so much more.
We celebrated Willy’s birthday with coconuts, pineapple juice cups, and banana chow cookies with a peanut butter frosting on top. In addition to the food festivities, we made sure Willy got to enjoy one of his favorite pastimes of watching videos of chimps. I think it is safe to say he had a great birthday! Happy birthday, Willy B!
Phantom Nesting and Coconut Cracking
I hope you enjoy the video above and think about the different ways that primates (including human primates) learn.
I was searching for other blog posts where we talked about phantom nesting and found this video from way back in 2010 that shows Burrito and Foxie phantom nesting. It goes with this blog post, which includes some interesting comments. Anecdotally, I’ve talked with a caregivers at another sanctuary who said that they see phantom nesting mostly in chimpanzees who came from the same laboratory where Foxie was born.
I find the phantom nesting fascinating, but also incredibly sad, so I thought I’d lighten the mood a bit with the coconut cracking.
Speaking of lightening the mood, one reason this blog post is a bit tardy is because I was tuned into the end of the Sweet 16 Online Auction. There were so many items in Bid Wars! To add to the excitement, there was an anonymous donor who put us well over our goal with a super generous donation to “top things off” as she said.
I am so grateful for all of the incredibly talented artists who donated items for this auction and to everyone who participated in the auction by bidding and donating. Big congratulations to the winners. I’ll be in touch about getting your art to you!!
Love a Chimpanzee Day 2023 Party!
Thank you again to Monica for going above and beyond for the chimpanzees and making Love a Chimpanzee Day an annual celebration for her friends. You can keep the celebration going by making a donation on our GiveBIG page! BIG thanks to those who have already made a gift towards our goal. We really appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Here are a few photos from the party that Grace and Sabrina helped obtain for the blog. I like the series of three below of Missy maneuvering on the fire hose with her two coconuts!
Foxie:
Annie:
Burrito:
Negra:
Here are two creepy photos I took from the window of the Marmot Mountain Playroom while we were setting out a pre-party party of kale and popcorn. Creepy because neither J.B. nor Chad knew I was there taking photos of them:
Cy’s 33rd Birthday Celebration
There’s a lot of love going out to Cy today on his 33rd birthday. Thank you to everyone who sponsored the day in his honor, made donations in his name, and purchased the limited edition Cy’s book club merchandise!
Today was also the first day of Daylight Savings Time. For CSNW, that means that, while we turn the clocks back like everyone else, we keep on the same actual time schedule for the chimp house. So, expect your blog posts an hour later than “usual” (or even later if I’m writing the blog, especially if it’s a party day).
If you haven’t already, please do think of Cy this evening and wish him a happy birthday in your heart. We don’t know what we’d do without him and his leadership over the sometimes rowdy group of nine!
Mission: Impossible
Sometimes the forages on Young’s Hill contain a few extra special treats – something even better than the oranges and primate chow you are currently enjoying.
If you, like Missy here, are lucky enough spot such a treat – a coconut, for example – your work has only begun. Because retrieving the prize may require a daring mission.
You must be stealthy. Drawing attention to the presence of such a treat will only invite competition.
Get in, get out, and no one will be the wiser.
Now, look around. Did anyone see you or the coconut?
Is the coast clear?
Good. Time to grab the loot and escape unnoticed.
Carefully.
Gracefully.
Like a jewel thief.
There is no coconut and you were never there.
Whoopsie daisy…
At least she stuck the landing. And kept the coconut!
Jamie, on the other hand, has no need to fear her coconut being stolen and thus can avoid the indignity of falling off a tightrope.
Negra is a strictly terrestrial mammal regardless of the situation but managed to find some goodies nonetheless.
Jody also enjoyed the forage.
As did Foxie.
Annie found some primate chow placed atop the termite mound. But I think what she really wanted was some of that coconut.
Perhaps Missy found it in her heart to share?
Mave’s 33rd Birthday
Today, Mave celebrated her 33rd birthday! We’re so grateful to both Paulette Wrisley and Kenneth Reiter for sponsoring this day her her honor (in addition to Melissa Reed, whose sponsor post came earlier in the day).
One of the challenges of keeping the peace in a new group is to make things exciting for them, but not too exciting. Forages have a way of bringing out the competitive spirit in some chimps, if you know what I mean (see: B., William). So the key today was to ensure that Mave got some of her favorite foods without causing any unnecessary drama. And it was a success! We kept the forage fairly low-key and then made sure that everyone got at least one coconut and one mango. Honey B brought home the award for best coconut cracker, while Willy B had to watch some of the other chimps smash theirs open before figuring it out.
While Mave loved the food, her real present was the one thing money can’t buy, which she already received just recently – Dora! It seems that Mave has always wanted a Dora of her own, and now she has one. For her own birthday, Dora may want to ask for some personal space 🙂
Happy Birthday to an amazing chimpanzee.
