Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Jamie

Ever wondered?

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You might have a few questions running through the back of your mind after watching this video of Jamie and Burrito playing:

Well we’ve got answers!

Question 1:
What’s the story with the big pink bottoms?
Answer: Female chimpanzees have large pink swellings (called “sexual swellings”) on their rear ends. These swellings vary in size both between individuals, and also in the same individual over the course of the menstrual cycle. They advertise a female’s fertility by letting a male know when the probability of conception is at its peak. In this video, Jamie’s bottom is not very swollen, and therefore she is not at peak fertility.

Question 2:
Why are Burrito’s testicles so large?
A: Since chimpanzees are not a monogamous species, and a female chimp may have multiple mating partners in a relatively short window of time, male chimpanzees engage in what is known as “sperm competition” – a male who can produce a large number of viable sperm has a better chance of producing offspring. Large testicles are useful for accommodating these large quantities of sperm. Additionally, Burrito has a chronic heart condition that can lead to swelling in the scrotum.

Question 3:
Do the chimpanzees ever mate with each other?
A: No. Many chimpanzees who grow up in impoverished, unnatural situations (like research labs) often develop abnormally and don’t exhibit typical social and sexual behavior. It’s also possible that the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees consider themselves a family after living together as a group for so long, and therefore don’t view each other as viable mating partners. As an added precaution, Burrito has had a vasectomy.

Annie’s Birthday Extravaganza!

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Today is Annie’s 43rd Birthday! We are so fortunate to know Annie – she is a sweet, playful, and loyal friend to humans and non-humans. We celebrated her today with a fun forage full of veggies, chow, roasted onions, and smoothie in the greenhouse and Young’s Hill.  Annie also really LOVES kale especially from our garden. It was quite the party!

Annie standing bipedally while foraging on the hill:

Annie found some delicious kale from our garden:

Burrito scored a few presents:

Burrito (wonder what he found inside):

Annie enjoying a plate of corn and broccoli with a side of socks:

Jamie drinking smoothie:

Jamie unwrapping a present:

Jamie holding some boots in her pelvic pocket:

Negra basking in the sun and foraging:

Birthday girl (Annie):

Missy:

Jody eating some leeks from our garden:

Annie enjoying her kale:

Foxie eating chow:

Annie found one last plate:

Going Through the Archives

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Thought I’d share a few photos from the last few weeks at the sanctuary.

Jody relaxing in the playroom:

Jamie surveying Young’s Hill from the top platform in the greenhouse:

Firefighters from the Jolly Mountain Fire presenting Jamie with her own pair of firefighting boots:

Missy discovering a tomato stash during a lunch forage on Young’s Hill:

Burrito:

Annie:

Annie’s hand holding some bell peppers:

Negra eating an onion on Young’s Hill:

Foxie with Dora:

The best things come first

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Most chimpanzees are not known for holding on to their favorite foods for very long. If dessert was an option, they would insist that it come first. Negra will reluctantly fill her hands with vegetables she is willing to eat, but caregivers know that she has food priorities she is waiting for. Jamie will gesture emphatically until you have served her favorite food items first and then will sometimes accept her least favorite items at the end of the meal. Missy will nod her head quickly to request more of the food she loves (usually tomatoes). Burrito will often begin to play with caregivers as a way of communicating that he isn’t interested in something and it’s time to move on with meal service. Each of the chimps make it very clear what they want and when they want it, it’s just a matter of paying attention.

Yesterday, Jamie saved her least favorite item from lunch, her carrot, until it was the last thing she ate.

The Birthday Tomato Queen

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Today we celebrated Missy’s 42nd birthday and the amazing chimp woman she is, so naturally we’ve been partying all day long!

If you know Missy, you know that she thinks tomatoes are the.best.thing.ever! So naturally, we bought more tomatoes than we thought one small chimp woman could possibly eat. $42 worth to be exact. Missy was beside herself when she saw them all this morning! These are of course meant to stretch out for a couple days (our plan, not hers), but we still served tomatoes with every meal. And she still thought it wasn’t enough.

We planned an indoor/outdoor forage brunch party with fresh fruits, veggies, and primate chow to compliment the tomatoes along with sparkling cider and pineapple coconut juice and everyone seemed pretty pleased with the festivities. Though I didn’t include a photo of her, Jamie was on the go drinking up all the juice.

Missy with a mouthful of cherry tomatoes:

Missy’s bestie, Annie, with a treat bag:

Negra with a mouthful of corn:

Missy on the go, foraging:

Burrito:

Jody:

We also scattered forage with lots of tomatoes on Young’s Hill with some special hothouse tomatoes still on the vine high up on the shaky bridge – a classic Missy spot – in the hopes she’d be the one to find them. Foxie is right up there with Missy as far as tomato connoisseurs go and they ended up being the only two who decided to venture onto the hill for the outdoor portion of the forage. They headed out together and played it cool so as not to attract the attention of the others.

Foxie found a whole tomato and quietly looked around to make sure no one was watching before popping the entire thing in her mouth. And you may not be able to see, but she’s rubbing her toes together which is Foxie speak for pure happiness and contentment:

Here she is hiding behind a post as she enjoys her secret tomatoes:

Missy searched high and low (and she did find the tomatoes on the vine!):

The Birthday Tomato Queen herself. We love you Miss! Happy Birthday and sweet tomato dreams. Rest up! There’s more tomatoes to eat tomorrow!