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play behavior

Missy’s Perfectly Playful Day

May 5, 2018 by Diana

Missy is having a really good day. She and Annie enjoyed some grass together first thing this morning.

 

Later, they played chase at the very top of the new structure.

 

For lunch, they sat next to each other eating some beets.

 

Missy often does things for the sure joy of movement, like this tightrope walk and dismount on some fire hose.

 

Missy shared her good spirits this afternoon by inviting me to play a game of tug-of-war with a blanket. She does this by pushing a blanket under the caging and giving a casual glance at her prospective play partner. Often these tug-of-war games are gentle, but she loves a serious match once in a while. Today, she was being particularly vigorous and I was left having to let go of the blanket when she was pulling very hard, which resulted in her falling backwards. She seemed to find this quite funny, so we repeated it several times.

Watching Missy today was a reminder to get outside, embrace the little moments, and have some laughs with a friend or two.

Filed Under: Featured Post, Friendship, Missy, Sanctuary, Young's Hill Tagged With: chimpanzee, friendship, Missy, Play, play behavior

Playful Negra

May 14, 2011 by Diana

We don’t know exactly how old Negra is. Our records say she was captured in Africa in 1973, other records indicate 1968. As far as we know, she was immediately placed in a biomedical research facility in the United States after her capture. She remained the property of the biomedical industry until 2008.

We celebrate Negra’s birthday on June 13th, the day the chimpanzees arrived to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. The 3rd anniversary of the chimps’ arrival and Negra’s 38th (or so) birthday is just one month away!

Regardless of her exact age, Negra is not a young chimpanzee, and it’s always a joy to see breaking out into play. She and Foxie had been playing for several minutes before I could get to the camera. When I did start filming, Jamie was banging on the fencing and didn’t seem very pleased, but she soon decided to give up on reprimanding me and instead joined in on the play.

My favorite part of the video below is Negra’s foot stomp towards Jamie. Foot stomping is a common chimpanzee play behavior, but this is one of the very few times I’ve witnessed Negra do it.

Filed Under: Chimpanzee Behavior, Foxie, Jamie, Negra, Play, Sanctuary Tagged With: behavior, chimp, chimp play, chimpanzee, csnw, foot stomp, Foxie, Jamie, Negra, northwest, Play, play behavior, playing, Sanctuary

Burrito being playful

November 6, 2010 by Diana

I have pretty much the best job in the world. Thanks to stellar volunteers Jessica and Lynn, I was able to spend some time with Burrito this morning. He was in a particularly silly mood.

It’s easy to forget everything that he’s been through when he’s so playful. Chimpanzees have very good memories, but I think they are better at living in the moment than most humans. And Burrito is definitely better at remaining childlike.

Filed Under: Burrito, Caregivers, Play, Sanctuary Tagged With: Burrito, captivity, chimp, chimp behavior, chimpanzee, csnw, Enrichment, northwest, Play, play behavior, primate, Sanctuary

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PO Box 952
Cle Elum, WA 98922
[email protected]
509-699-0728
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EIN: 68-0552915

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