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Playfaces
Annie and Missy just play, play, play:
A Royal Party
I promised generous friends and family who gave through my Facebook birthday wish that I would throw a party for the chimpanzees today on my birthday. Thanks to Derek, Stephanie M., Jessica, Anika, Jen, David, Audrey, Linda, Donna, Laura, Stephanie P., Susan & Jack, Ryan, Gay & Mike, Kathy, Anna, Suzanne, Margaret & Karen and big thanks to Bruce and Deborah for helping me surpass my birthday wish goal!
We thought it would be fun to make the party a British high tea since William and Kate’s wedding was just yesterday.
We made some fancy food, put out some crazy hats, and let the chimps enjoy.
In case you’re wondering about the cake, I modified this recipe for raw birthday cake. I believe the video shows that the chimps approved. Burrito and Missy also enjoyed the cake, but they were off camera when I filmed. Debbie was serving at the barn doors to entice the chimps into the playroom so I could close off the greenhouse and volunteer Erin and I could set up the rest of the party.
The sandwiches were Erin’s creation: lettuce and English cucumbers with a layer of mashed bananas between slices of apple.
Happy High Tea, everyone!
After the party, Burrito kicked back with a macadamia nut
Chimp Politics
In the chimp world, when you are the boss, it means you can get away with a lot– well, everything. As the leader of the Cle Elum Seven, Jamie lets her feelings be known. When she doesn’t like something someone did, or the way they did it, it can lead to a fight (or a screaming match, which seems to be more common these days). So, to succeed as a member of the group, you must learn how to be a good politician, which first and foremost means how to be submissive to the (wo)man. As the least dominant member of the group, Annie is excellent at this. She is constantly referencing the other members of the group to make sure everyone is okay with whatever it is she is doing. Foxie is somewhere in the middle of the dominance hierarchy but tends to get away with a lot. She is the peacekeeper of the group and has a very close friendship with Jamie, but she still has to tread lightly, none the less.
Gum
Enrichment comes in many shapes and sizes. We give the chimps gum from time to time, because not only is it good for the chimps’ teeth (we try to stick to Spry Brand gum, which has Xylitol in it- a natural sweetener that is also good for your teeth), but it gives them something interesting to do. Some of the chimps choose to just swallow their gum right away, but others like to chew and even play with their gum.
Burrito:
Missy, “stretching out” her enrichment:
Chimps in Labs report
We are lucky that we are able to see and share “the other side of the story” of the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees. But we never forget where they came from and we never forget about the over 1,000 chimpanzees still in biomedical research facilities.
Today, an excellent set of articles came out about the use of chimpanzees in biomedical research and the issue of the Alamogordo Primate Facility chimpanzees whose fate is still uncertain after receiving a temporary reprieve from their transfer to what is now called the Texas Biomedical Research Institute. Please read the series of articles in McClatchy by Chris Adams here: www.mcclatchydc.com/chimps
If you’ve been following this story on our blog and e-newsletters (just search for “Alamogordo” in the search box to the right), you know that Jody’s son Levi was already transferred to the biomedical facility. Among the 186 chimpanzees whose fate is depending on the decision of the NIH officials examining the issue is Negra’s daughter Heidi (pictured below), Foxie’s son David, and Jody’s daughter April.
This is a crucial time for not just the Alamogordo chimpanzees, but all laboratory chimpanzees. The bill to outlaw the use of chimpanzees in invasive biomedical research in the United States was recently reintroduced as the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act.
Learn more about this bill and how to help: Project R&R
For more on the Alamogordo Primate Facility chimpanzees: Retire the Chimps
Party for Love a Chimpanzee Day
We put the emphasis on delicious fresh food for Love a Chimpanzee Day 2011, brought to the chimps by Monica, who sponsored a day and sent some extra cash and goodies for us to throw a party. (Find out how you can sponsor a day by visiting our donate page or contacting us).
Here is the forage before spreading it out (and a few non-food treats for the chimps):
Here’s Negra traveling with a perfectly ripe avocado – a favorite among all of the chimpanzees:
Here’s Foxie picking peas out of the “garden” that volunteer Connie created in the sandbox
Negra even opened a present!
Annie seemed fond of this new doll:
Foxie did not seem fond of the same doll, though she did seem to enjoy taking it apart – it’s all part of the fun:
It was a beautiful sunny day in Cle Elum and all of the chimps really enjoyed the goodies today. Dinner ended with lots of nuts for Negra and figs. Little do they know they’ll be having another party tomorrow!
