Burrito is having a pretty good Monday, and he hopes you are, too.
Enrichment
Water and Ice Enrichment on a Hot Day
There’s a whole crew of people here building a new structure on Young’s Hill today! We will do a big reveal on Monday, so start making your predictions as to what the structure will look like.
Because there are humans on the hill, the chimpanzees don’t have access. And today is HOT! It feels like summer. With these two circumstances combined, we needed to come up with something cooling and time-occupying for the chimpanzees. We decided on water and ice enrichment.
I’d say it was a hit.
Annie:
Missy:
Burrito:
Foxie:
Jamie making up her own enrichment (of course):
Natural enrichment
We’re always trying to come up with ways to can keep the Cle Elum Seven enriched throughout the day. We offer toys, blankets, boots, dolls, clothing, containers (to name a few) each day. But, sometimes nature provides the best forms of enrichment, including grass and plants to forage, birds to watch (and chase) and snakes to inspect.
So, it’s always nice to incorporate parts of nature into the chimps’ enrichment. Pine cones are a great way to do just that. Add a little peanut butter to the outside, hide a few raisins in the middle and viola, chimpanzee evening enrichment.
Missy
Annie
Jody
Negra
So much light
If you are new to the blog, something we write about often is the chimpanzees’ enrichment. One of the biggest challenges we face with captive chimpanzees (and all animals really) is keeping their intelligent and active minds busy. In the wild chimpanzees are busy patrolling large territories, foraging for food and navigating the dynamics of large families. So even the best captive situation cannot provide the mental stimulation chimps receive in their natural wild lives.
We have two calendars in the chimp house, one for daytime enrichment and one for evening enrichment. Daily enrichment is given a theme such as “blue things,” “troll scarves,” or “beach day” and is really to help us caregivers think outside the box a bit and keep things interesting for the chimps by presenting their enrichment in different ways each day. Evening enrichment is provided each evening after dinner and consists of some kind of food puzzle which keeps the chimps engaged in an activity as we close up the chimp house for the night.
Today’s enrichment theme was “giant pile” day meaning we deposited all of the chimps’ toys, activities and blankets into a giant mountain of a pile in the playroom after cleaning. Jamie was thrilled and promptly took over the entire pile (much to Negra’s chagrin who was sitting above her on the catwalk, looking disgusted with the humans’ “bright idea,” waiting for the opportunity to steal some blankets away for her nest).
But the boss lady had no shame in making the coziest nest ever (with 30 blankets) and loved being able to check everything of interest all within arm’s reach. She spent some quality time relaxing with her beloved boot, reading her new books, and occasionally glancing outside the barn doors to this beautifully peaceful spring day.
As I gaze at these photos Jamie allowed me to take I can’t help but think of the past she, and all the chimps, came from and the contrast of their lives now. What must it feel like for them to be at peace? To be surrounded by comfort, love and respect? To spend their time doing what feels best to each of them? The look of well-being and contentment and the light in Jamie’s eyes speaks volumes. And it makes my heart sing for her.
Free to Be
Jamie was raised as a performer and then spent two decades in a laboratory. Here at the sanctuary, she is finally free to be a chimpanzee, but more importantly, she is free to be whoever she wants to be.
Jamie Chimpanzee
Age: 38ish. Her exact birthday is unknown, but she was likely born in 1977. We celebrate her birthday on Halloween to celebrate her mischievous personality. Check out the following link to find out more about Jamie’s story prior to arriving at CSNW.
Nicknames: James. She is also referred to as “The Boss”
Favorite food: Pears
What she is known for: She’s known for being the leader, the one in charge (of the other chimps and us humans too!). She absolutely loves her cowboy/girl boots and doing perimeter patrols around her outdoor enclosure (sometimes walking until it’s dark). And she demands her human caregivers put on one or more boots and walk with her (humans walk on the outside of the fence, while she walks inside). She is an excellent tool user and loves using them for projects around the sanctuary.
Distinguishing physical characteristics: She is very muscular, has dark freckles on her face and her nipples are pink. Many caregivers (and blog readers) know her by her perfect posture and her distinctive strut, especially when she’s walking around Young’s Hill.
Personality: Where do I begin? It’s complicated; she’s complicated! I think Elizabeth did a great job of summarizing her contradicting personality characteristics. She’s extremely intelligent and serious, yet she has a playful side. And as much as she is demanding, bossy, stubborn, intense, mischievous and moody, she is also determined, passionate and uninhibited.
These are some of my favorite photos of Jamie taken last week (she didn’t want her photo taken today).
Chimps and Dolls
Chimpanzees are powerful, intelligent, adaptable, and sometimes aggressive wild animals. They do not belong in people’s homes as pets. They do not belong on training compounds used for television shows, music videos, movies and advertisements.
They belong in equatorial Africa where they live in large social groups, foraging and hunting their own food.
When that’s not possible, when where they belong has been taken away, and when they have been born into and grown up in captivity, a sanctuary is the best option for them. And sanctuary means taking the individual chimpanzees on their own terms and letting them find things they enjoy – things that may be very far from the image of the wild animals who they are.
For Foxie, that means dolls. It’s not that she is like a human child, or even that she’s using the dolls as substitute children (though maybe that’s part of it, given her history). Foxie has found something she likes, something that entertains and comforts her.
Foxie is still very much a powerful, intelligent, adaptable, and sometimes aggressive chimpanzee.
And Jamie too. I can’t imagine too many things more silly than a troll scarf, but Jamie manages to wear a troll scarf while at the same time projecting the strong chimpanzee that she is.
