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On Young’s Hill
The chimpanzees’ relationship with Young’s Hill has certainly developed over the time they have had access to it. Sanctuary has provided them with the room to run physically as well as the room to expand psychologically. Not only have they grown as individuals as a result of the space provided but their relationships and sense of self appear to have evolved as well. Today, in honor of the gift that space provides, here is a visual exposition of the chimpanzees experiencing the splendor of Young’s Hill.
Annie foraging:
Jamie walking through the grass:
Burrito climbing over logs:
Missy smiling while running:
Foxie sitting up on one of the wooden climbing structures:
Jody walking through the grass:
Negra enjoying the sun (a repeat but one of my favorites!):
The Chimp Whisperer
If there’s one chimpanzee who plays the role of peacemaker in the group, it’s Foxie. It seems to be her personal ambition to make sure everyone is getting along. During conflicts, she often runs around and tries to calm everyone down. You could say she’s a bit of a chimp whisperer.
So it’s not surprising that she’s a preferred play partner for a lot of the chimps. If Jamie or Burrito are looking for some fun, it’s almost always Foxie who they’ll seek out. (Burrito has the problem of being a little intimidated by almost everyone else in the group, and Jamie has the problem of almost everyone else in the group being a little intimidated by her.)
Diana got some footage of Foxie working her magic with Burrito and Negra (who doesn’t play very much with anyone due to being somewhat of an old lady) this weekend while the chimps were waiting for the humans to finish cleaning the playroom.
On an unrelated note, thanks so much to everyone who came out for Sippin’ for the Seven last night. You can see photos from the event here. And bidding for our online auction is open until Tuesday, so be sure to check out the items and get your bids in!
The Great Piñata Heist
The chimpanzees had some special guests today! Friend of the chimpanzees (and the humans!) Adrienne Armstrong, along and her family and friends, Ollie, Jessy, and Jamie, paid a visit to the sanctuary to volunteer in the chimp house. And they brought the chimpanzees piñatas! And you’ll never guess who made a haul of all the loot…Annie!
As you may recall from a previous post, as the least dominant of the chimpanzees, this is quite a bold move for Annie and an undertaking not without some risk involved. As the boss of the sanctuary, Jamie typically makes a quick claim to enrichment like piñatas, leaving the other chimps to wait for an opportunity to see if anything was missed when she casts them aside. But today Jamie was distracted by a new pair of boots being “chimp approved” in the kitchen so Annie decided to make her move.
Jamie was briefly torn between seeing Annie with the piñatas, and staff with the new boots, but after screaming at Annie once and throwing a blanket at her from the loft, the prospective new boots won Jamie’s attention. And Annie seized not only her opportunity, but all, yes ALL, of the piñatas!
Annie wasn’t even swayed by her best (and more dominant) friend, Missy, who continually approached her while peering at her and moderately suggesting she hand the loot over. Annie just calmly picked up the piñatas and moved her spoils elsewhere. Gotta love this girl.
Thank you so much, Adrienne, Ollie, Jessy and Jamie, for all that you do for the chimpanzees and for making their day (especially Annie’s!!) special!
Tricks!
We’ve been up to some tricks today…
Forest
I love seeing the chimps on Young’s Hill with the forest as a backdrop. Though we can never return them to the wild, we can give them the next best thing. After living decades in the lab, I imagine it must feel pretty great to have open air, sunshine, and blue sky overhead. And the view isn’t too bad either.
Paparazzi
As the weather turns from summer’s heat to winter’s chill the chimpanzees are adjusting their habits accordingly. The panels for the greenhouse walls have all been returned and the chimpanzees are finding the most pleasant spots to spend their time. The windows in the catwalk of the playroom are, of course, a reliable favorite. Recently the top wooden platform of the climbing structure in the greenhouse appears to have developed into a popular (and, most likely, the warmest) hang out during the day. While cleaning in the playroom today I realized the catwalk afforded a vantage point of this coveted spot that is pretty well hidden from view otherwise.
Here are the chimpanzees enjoying the warmth of the greenhouse at their leisure.
Missy & Jody playing together:
Jody catches me taking pictures:
Missy & Negra playing AND catching me with the camera:
