Here are some photos Diana took this morning. We’ll try to post some video tomorrow.
Halloween Party!
Foxie
Play Initiation
Chimps have a number of different ways to indicate that they would like to play. If you read this blog regularly, you’ve seen a chimpanzee play face. This face (top teeth covered, bottom teeth exposed, bottom lip drooping) says “Hey, I’m about to slap you in the face and bite your foot, but its all in good fun – don’t take it the wrong way!”
But its not just the face that indicates a playful mood. Quite often, chimps use objects to get things going. For example, Missy sometimes likes to steal a blanket from Annie’s nest, and Annie quickly jumps up and engages in a game of chase. And around here, the wearing of socks is a universal sign that a chimp is ready to play. You can see the look in Missy’s face that says “As soon as I pull this sock up to me knee, it’s go time!”.
Foxie, in all her new found playfulness, has developed a her own unique way of initiating play with her human caregivers, and of course, it involves a troll. She pushes a troll through the caging so that it lands on the floor in the human area. As soon as we pick it up, the game of chase begins. She gets so excited when we chase her with the troll that she will sometimes do standing back flips or climb to the ceiling of the outdoor area and hang upside down while rubbing her feet together. Occasionally, she pushes the troll out when we’re not looking. When this happens, she claps until we notice the troll lying lonely on the floor.
This morning, Foxie must have been feeling creative, because I think she invented the “I have a troll on my head, so it must be time to play” signal.
Foxie and Negra
Foxie continues to change… on Saturday, J.B. and I saw her display for the first time! She pant-hooted and even banged on the plexiglass window the way that Burrito does when he displays outside. I thought I was seeing things for a moment. Foxie is gaining so much confidence and obviously feeling more comfortable – I can’t wait to see what she does next!
Below is a photo of Foxie outside shortly after her display, with Negra behind her draped in a blanket.
And here is Negra – a photo I recently found and edited. I wish I could put into words how special and beautiful Negra is, but with images like this, maybe I don’t need words.
Acrobatics
During a game of chase with me today, Foxie decided to hang upside down from the roof. Amazingly, she managed to hang on to both of her trolls. I wish I had been able to capture her next act, where she let go with her hands and hung straight down by her feet.
Foxie Challenges Diana to a Clap-Off
Those of you that read this blog regularly know that Foxie has been coming out of her shell. Every day now she seems a little more playful, and this huge personality is emerging from a formerly reserved and guarded chimpanzee.
My favorite part of this video is when Foxie does a “pirhouette”, a behavior more often seen in juvenile chimpanzee play. The “new” Foxie does seem younger.
Foxie’s daughter
Shelly C. is having trouble posting comments this morning, and wanted us to be sure to send this link of a photo of Angie, Foxie’s daughter. Angie is being cared for by Save the Chimps and will soon be making her journey to their beautiful sanctuary in Florida. Here is a link to her short bio, which includes a photo: http://www.savethechimps.org/bios_angie.asp
We at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest have plans to find other children of the chimpanzees under our care – we just haven’t had the time to do so yet, so thank you Shelly C. for finding Angie! It is so wonderful to learn that Angie is safe at another sanctuary and will soon be moving to Florida where she will live in a large social group and spend her days on an island. I’ll see if I can find out any more information about Angie – just from the brief description, it sounds like she has a lot in common with Foxie.
More party photos
Negra looks on as Foxie opens a birthday gift
Jody and Missy in a mess of wrapping paper. Missy with raisin board.
Annie opening a gift
Missy and Jamie looking out window at horses in field. The chimps are still using a lot of the gifts, like the sturdy yellow table Jamie is sitting on, from the last party donated by blog readers through our Target and Amazon wish list; and the humans are very gratefully using all of the kitchen stuff we received! We’re still adding new items to the Amazon wish list (see link at right) – the latest items received include a Little Tykes wrench and a mirror so we can see the chimpanzees when they are on the second level in the playroom. A huge THANK YOU to all who have donated their time, talent, gifts and money in order for us to care for this very unique group of seven.
Five chimpanzees on catwalk resting in front of the windows after a terrific party.
