The blanket ghost, mystery chimp, or the blanket bandit strikes again today! Missy, who we staff and volunteers thought for a slight moment was Negra, was caught playing an intense game of under the blanket wrestling, biting, and canoodling. What I cannot get over is the moment at the end of the video. Annie’s head in Missy’s lap. Little Miss was looking out the window while her best friend Annie rested her head. I mean my heart hurts just writing it! Let’s just say there were a lot of happy chimps today!
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Drag Raceeerrr!
As J.B. showed in his blog post the other day, for Jamie, springtime at the sanctuary also brings drag racing season. And folks, though we know you just saw a fantastic video of Jamie racing the Gator around Young’s Hill, she continues to outdo herself.
Former staff, now volunteer caregiver, Keri, was with us yesterday and as we were headed back to the barn on the Gator after caring for the cattle, we looked up to see Jamie, hair standing on end in excitement (pilo), stomping her foot and clapping her hands. This is Jamie speak for, “Let’s race!!” So we were off! Be sure to watch for the downhill portion of the track. Pure gold.
Troll Scarves & Cowboy Magazines
Did you guys ever have rainy day recess? That is what today felt like, except the chimps did have access to outside. Some people like Jamie went on a few walks (or sprints with the Gator) but in general the chimps kind of all decided to spend most of their day at the top of the platform in the Greenhouse or playing in the Playroom. Today, I got a few special moments caught on camera. My favorite is Jamie wearing a troll scarf and reading a magazine with boots in it. As Jamie is flipping through her magazine Jody approaches her. Jody has a loose bottom lip and is a little pilo. Jody looks longingly into Jamie’s eyes. Jody reaches out to groom and hesitantly Jamie accepts the offer and they groom for about 10 minutes. After, Jody comes over to us caregivers for some reassurance and then climbs up the Playroom caging to nest. Jamie casually goes back to flipping her magazine like nothing ever happened.
Here are a few extra photos I got today!
Jody cozy in her nest:
Burrito with one of his favorite toys:
Foxie was very excited about playing troll toss, which was what happened immediately after these photos:
Foxie later took a nap on the floor but she had no use for blankets:
A Game with Burrito
Maybe it’s spring, or maybe it’s just Burrito, but he is a playful, joyful whirlwind today. This morning he found a game of tug of war and checking himself out in the phone camera to be especially hilarious.
Adult Chimpanzees Don’t Play
I once learned in a primate behavior class that adult chimps don’t tend to play much unless they’re playing with juveniles. Clearly, nobody gave the Cle Elum Seven the news. These are a few of my favorite play videos:
Playful Missy and Visitors from Ngamba Island
It’s been a busy week at the sanctuary! Contractors are finishing the human areas of the Phase 1 expansion now that a back ordered fixture is finally in and Missy, as you can see in the video above, is keeping us busy playing very competitive games of tug-o-war.
We were also fortunate to host two guests from Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Uganda. Ngamba is home to 49 orphaned chimpanzees and through their NGO, the Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust, they also do incredible work protecting wild chimpanzees through both field conservation and community education. Irene and Joseph have been visiting various primate sanctuaries while in the United States and they were able to spend the past week volunteering with us.
While here, they were also kind enough to share inspiring stories of their work with the students and faculty of the Primate Behavior and Ecology program at Central Washington University.
If you don’t already, I’d encourage you to follow Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary on Facebook and support their efforts to protect chimpanzees. Many thanks, Irene and Joseph, from all of us at CSNW (especially Jody)!
More joy!
What’s your favorite play move in this video? I’m partial to the “Drag a Sitting Missy.” Second place would probably have to go to “Squish a Sitting Missy.”
