Do you notice a theme in the following three photos?
Annie
jamie
Foxie
Plus a few bonus closeup photos….
Missy
Jody
Jody
The den mother
We refer to Jody as the “mom” of the group for many reasons. She is concerned about sticking to the daily routine at the sanctuary and cares deeply for the well-being of her group mates. If someone is late to mealtime, she makes it her duty to go and find them. On Young’s Hill, she is often seen keeping an eye out for the other chimps and is always on hand to lend a little bit of reassurance. When she’s not checking up on others, she finds time to do a little exploring of her own.
Some days are best for a nest
The sun has filled the chimp house with light and the chimps with high spirits and shenanigans, but the spring wind is chilly today so the chimps have spent the afternoon enjoying sunny spots from the comfort of their nests this afternoon. Much how I spent my weekend, so who can blame them?
Jamie:
Jody enjoying a magazine:
Burrito keeping an eye on good friend, Jody, from afar:
Negra:
Treat Buckets
Case Files, Part 2
Name: Jody
Nicknames: Jo, JoJo
Age: 41
Birthday: Mother’s Day
Role: The Mom/The Manager
Personality: independent, earnest, caring
What She Would Save in a Fire: her chimp family
Likes: comfort, warm greetings, wild plants
Dislikes: tomato seeds, dinosaur and snake toys, disorder
Name: Negra
Nicknames: Neg, Neggie
Age: 43
Birthday: June 13th
Role: The Queen/The Grandma
Personality: regal, imperious, grumpy
What She Would Save in a Fire: her blankets
Likes: peanuts, sunshine, naps
Dislikes: drama, wind, cantaloupe
Outdoor Exploration
As a follow up to yesterday’s blog about Missy and Annie’s friendship, I thought I would post this little clip of Missy and Annie entering Young’s Hill together first thing this morning. Annie often starts her Young’s Hill adventures walking bipedal. Maybe it’s an attempt to avoid the wet ground, or maybe it’s just to get a better view of her surroundings. Missy generally keeps all four limbs planted on the ground, that is, until she starts sprinting up the hill at top speed.
On a slightly separate note, while not the best quality photo, I still like this one because it shows the chimpanzees taking full advantage of the different dimensions of Young’s Hill.
Missy on the fire hose tightrope, Annie on the structure to her left, Foxie on the tall platform behind Missy, and just a glimpse of Jody in the bottom left on the ground:
It’s happening!!
We’re reaching the balmy 40’s, the rains have begun, the bluebirds have returned and the snow is melting! To help move things along we decided to shovel a path part of the way up Young’s Hill this morning in the hopes it’d be clear in a day or two for Jamie to walk part way up the perimeter. Well, Jamie and her right hand gal, Missy, wasted no time in testing it out. When Jamie asked me to put her cowgirl boots on after lunch I assumed we were doing the usual wintertime back and forth to the greenhouse. She quickly disappeared and when I looked outside I spotted her and Missy on the pathway waiting for me to catch up! Apologies for the poor quality of photos, but of course we have to share the big day. 🙂
Jamie and Missy headed up Young’s Hill!:
They went to the end of the path and turned around to head back downhill where Jamie promptly marched back up hill and down again. (If you go enough times it equals a walk all the way around the hill, right?)
Missy:
Jamie:
Meanwhile, Missy made her way every which way across the hill via tightrope walking:
Once Jamie was satisfied with her walk, she joined Missy:
Foxie and Jody made a brief foray up the hill as well:
Many of the chimps spent a big part of the morning on the climbing structures – racing across the fire hoses, climbing, brachiating – all the good stuff chimps do. Even Negra has been spotted outside for brief moments! I can imagine they feel just as we do when winter finally gives up it’s grip and ease of spring feels imminent. And I think for us humans, watching them so full of joy and exuberance at reclaiming their beloved Young’s Hill was more of a lift than anything spring could bring our way. Something tells me Jamie’s Boot Camp of multiple daily walks around the hill for her caregivers isn’t too far off…and we couldn’t be happier.
