Foxie makes me smile everyday.
northwest
Jamie loves a challenge
Many nonhuman animals have the ability to create and use tools. It’s easy to think of this behavior as simply a means to an end – a crow wants to retrieve a piece of food from a vertical tube, so she bends a piece of wire into a hook in order to pull the food out (if you weren’t aware that birds can create and use tools, you should check this out. We primates aren’t as special as we think we are).
But for humans, we know that tool use and problem solving are not always linked to a tangible goal. Why do we play chess or work on crossword puzzles? Why did I play the game Operation when I was a kid? For many people, activities that challenge our memories and problem-solving abilities, or test our dexterity and coordination, are considered fun.
What I find interesting about Jamie is not that she can find an appropriate tool, modify it if necessary, and manipulate it in order to achieve a goal that could not be achieved otherwise. What interests me is that this is Jamie’s idea of a good time. What we see in videos like the one below is a chimpanzee contemplating, deciding, planning, manipulating, straining, and struggling. For what? Not for the nut, at least not only for the nut. Jamie has a mind that goes looking for problems to solve. For her, it’s all about the challenge.
The view from Young’s Hill
An Unusual Play Trio
J.B. and I were cleaning the playroom this morning, when we saw Negra, Foxie and Annie playing together. This is quite the unusual trio of playmates, and I’ve never seen Negra play this long in one stretch! There was more than what is shown in the video, but it was challenging filming conditions – through the glass window with the playroom filling up with steam from cleaning. J.B. caught some choice moments, and I know Negra fans will be thrilled.
Still time to get chocolate for your sweetie!
Just two more days to make a donation of $40 or more and in return receive a unique and delicious (believe me, I’ve sampled one) organic vegan Sjaak’s chocolate bar with a special label celebrating Annie and Missy’s love. Use our Valentine’s Donation form and give a Valentine’s gift to the chimps and your loved one!
Jamie looking at you and More New Stuff
First, Jamie:
Now: more new stuff.
There’s no doubt that the Cle Elum Seven have the best supporters out there. Remember all of the new stuff that I posted about back in December? Well, the gifts have kept coming.
In addition to the heater that is keeping J.B. warm as he welds (thanks to Barb in Ohio), we received that metal shelving unit from local supporters Shelley and Patty that we asked for before the holidays. Take a look at the before photo on our Holiday Wishes blog post (4th photo down after the Burrito photo) and the after photo below!
We also received two door mats from Tamela. I probably couldn’t even explain how happy the door mats have made me, because I might sound ridiculous. Let me just say that before we received the new foot bath mat and the door mat from Tamela, our set-up was a tall pan with a towel in front of it. And the door mat we had by one of the human doors to the outside was a ripped piece of astro turf. Below is a photo of the doormat to the outside. The mirror on the door is for the benefit of the chimps (not so I can take photos of my legs) and was a gift that Tamela sent us a while back.
We also recently received a hose cart from Anthony L. which we unveiled today. We can hook it up to the spigot outside:
and uncoil the hose all the way into the greenhouse for our daily cleaning of that area:
(hey, you can see two of the new climbing structures on Young’s Hill in this photo!)
Thanks to everyone who has given us so much over the last 2.5 years. Like I said, the Cle Elum Seven have the best supporters out there!
Trolls
Jamie and Foxie spent some quality time with trolls today. I still can’t get over how integral troll dolls have become in the lives of these chimps…