While no match for equatorial Africa, living in rural Cle Elum does afford the chimpanzees some interesting experiences. The other day a garter snake made its way into the chimp house, and the chimps let their feelings on the matter be known.
Foxie
Great way to start the day
One of the things that we stress to our staff and volunteers is that our attitudes have a significant effect on the chimps. We all know from personal experience with friends, family, and coworkers that moods can be contagious, so we try to shake off whatever is bothering us before we go into the chimp house. The last thing the chimps need is for us to bring them down!
It works the other way as well – the chimps can really influence how we feel about our “day at the office”. Some chimps are particularly influential. If Jamie is in a bad mood, we’re in for a rough day, to say the least. But if she’s happy, we’re happy.
For me, there is one individual in particular that has the ability to brighten my morning no matter what side of the bed I wake up on. This morning, as I opened the door to greet the chimps, Foxie was waiting, troll in hand, to launch into a full-on game of “pass the troll” with some flips and spins thrown in. Not a bad way to start the day.
The Party Police
We sometimes (lovingly) refer to Jamie as “the party police”. It’s as if Jamie doesn’t want anyone to have too much fun, especially not without her. Usually her aggression is directed at the humans, like when we’re playing “pass the troll” with Foxie, but occasionally it’s directed at the other chimps.
Lazy Play
Chimpanzee play isn’t always rambunctious. Here’s a video of Foxie and Jody having a lazy morning play session.
Monkeying Around
I was commenting the other day about how many stories in the media about chimpanzees use some sort of monkey reference, often the term “monkeying around.”
This generally irritates primatologists, partly because it’s just silly and the stories themselves often are not, but mostly because chimpanzees are NOT monkeys. Chimpanzees are great apes like gorillas, orangutans, bonobos and humans. I might as well add that gibbons are called “lesser apes” and they are not monkeys either. There are a few distinct differences between apes and monkeys, the most notable physical difference is the tail – monkeys have them, apes do not.
When I was watching Foxie, Missy and Jody in the outdoor area today, though, I had to admit that “monkeying around” is pretty much exactly how I would describe what they were doing…
Another adorable Foxie moment…
Foxie got some new trolls today during lunch. It was, as always, exciting, but not enough to put down her carrots! It just required some multitasking. 🙂
Grass
The chimps were thrilled to have a grass forage this morning. I am still not sure what’s going to happen when we complete Young’s Hill, and they get to go out onto two acres of grass. Annie may never come back in again!
Foxie took one piece of grass at a time and carried them around like a pirate carrying a knife in his mouth while climbing a ship’s rigging. Strange analogy, I know, but that’s what it looked like.
The chimps eat grass differently than they do other types of food and browse. They take one piece at a time, fold it accordion-style, and swallow it without chewing (often gagging themselves in the process!).
