It’s hard to predict how the chimpanzees will interact with the enrichment we offer each day. For Jamie, the absolute highlight of this week has been the new sand table featured in Tuesday’s blog post. Jamie continues to be thoroughly captivated by it. Yesterday we added some buckets of soapy water to the mix.
Jamie
Sand therapy
Feeling stressed out? This long winter got you down? We know just the cure! There’s something quite Zen about watching Jamie play with fresh new sand. Make sure to view with sound for a little bit of calming enrichment!
Remembering a friend
Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Nicki Walters in memory of her husband, Bill Walters. Nicki and Bill have been such good friends to the chimpanzees and we’re honored to celebrate Bill and the difference he made in life. In fact, we are privileged to celebrate the difference his life made here at the sanctuary every day. Nicki shared this special message about Bill:
“We lost Bill last year in July but not before he got to see in person the amazing Twister & the beloved Chimps playing on it. Missy was first up! It all started by sponsoring a day in honor of his Birthday, that ended up spreading to last more days. He loved animals and life and is very missed but knowing a tribute that benefits the magnificent 7 named after him with his nickname truly provides peace and happiness to all who loved him. This is a tradition that will continue on. He loved what all of you do, thank you for helping to give him so many bright spots on the dark days with your incredible posts and to all who made the Twister possible.”
Nicki, thank you so much for choosing to honor and celebrate Bill’s memory with the chimpanzees. All of us here at CSNW hold you and your loved ones in our thoughts and hearts.
I believe most of us have the desire to somehow say we were here, to mark our time and to know that our life made a difference – that we left the world a better place for having been here. The possibilities are as far-reaching and unique as each one of us. And I think all of us will leave having made differences we will never be aware of. But for seven chimpanzee people who live on a hillside outside a small town in eastern Washington, Bill and his loved ones made a difference which will continue to ripple throughout all their days forward.
The chimps’ first inspection of the Twister:
Missy, first to the top!
Bill and Nicki watch the unveiling:
Annie and Missy playing chase underneath:
Jamie keeping watch over her home from under her beloved crow’s nest:
Foxie and Dora on an adventure:
Burrito’s courage:
Jody:
Missy (top) and Annie (below):
The Twister quickly became an important part of Jamie’s daily routine territory checks. Weather permitting, it’s the first place she heads each morning and the place she ends her day…or in many cases, her evening:
The Boss
Most of the chimpanzees here at the sanctuary are pretty “low-maintenance”. Give Foxie some dolls and she can entertain herself for hours. Jody’s thrilled with a huge pile of blankets. All Negra wants is some peace and quiet and a patch of sun.
But Jamie is not easy to please. It would be fair to say that all Jamie requires is the unceasing, devoted attention of her caregivers almost every moment of the day. She might demand more of us – more time, more attention – than the other six chimps combined.
It’s hard to imagine someone with a personality like Jamie’s surviving decades in a research lab, where she wasn’t in a position to demand anything of anyone. The chimps experienced a lot of firsts when they moved here: fresh air, sunshine, good food, warm blankets, friends. But I think for Jamie, the ability to make humans do things for her is just as important.
It’s our honor to be bossed around by her.
Carrying stuff
Since the chimpanzees don’t generally use backpacks or wear clothing with pockets, they can be pretty creative with how they choose to gather and carry items around.
Chimpanzees rely a lot on their mouths…
Negra:
Foxie:
Jamie:
But sometimes their mouths are full and they still need to carry more..
Jody:
Missy:
And sometimes their mouths are full and their arms are busy climbing, so they might rely on their feet..
Jamie:
Chimpanzee mothers carry their babies on their backs…
Foxie demonstrates with a doll:
Last but not least, a little live action carrying…
Jamie’s Mission Today
If you are new to the blog, Jamie is our master tool user here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. When she has something on her mind, she tends to find just the tool to get the job done. Sometimes she finds small sticks and plants on Young’s Hill to use (the 2 acre outdoor enclosure), while other times she picks from an assortment of enrichment objects we give to the chimps.
Check out J.B.’s recent video blog post of the chimps using various tools at the sanctuary.
This afternoon, I was taking photos of Annie in the Playroom, with her leg up in the air, grooming herself. It was a quiet, peaceful moment, when all of the sudden, Jamie came running through the doorway between the Greenhouse and the Playroom. Her mission….
…yes, you probably guessed it. It was to get chunks of snow from Young’s Hill.
Once she dug at the snow, chunks came off and she brought them back to the Greenhouse to eat.
Chimpanzee shenanigans
Today the chimps started out arguing and fighting and ripping and hooting, a little more than usual. But whatever family business they had to work out seems to have been resolved and they’ve spent the afternoon lounging about and engaging in a variety of goofy and endearing shenanigans.
Jamie has a routine of building a nest in one of the front rooms and napping/supervising the humans as we clean the playroom. Even while at rest, she usually has a project or a plan in progress…
and today she chose this:
Jamie is very creative and often likes to repurpose her enrichment:
(Happy Jamie flailing about):
Viola! From sock to ankle bandana:
Later in the afternoon, Foxie joined Jamie nesting in the playroom. Here is a good example of different nesting styles – Foxie doesn’t like to use blankets, whereas Jamie gets pretty creative:
With these two, it isn’t long before wrestling ensues:
And here it is folks, the ever-elusive Jamie play face!!:
Foxie is the one person who can really get Jamie to cut loose. But Jamie takes everything pretty seriously (she is the boss after all) so even when she is in full play mode, we don’t often catch a play face. So we need that in a closeup:
Foxie laughing as Jamie play bites her hand:
And last, but certainly not least, I leave you with this guy:
