Some might say that it’s undignified for those in their golden years to be so silly, but the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees don’t think so. (And neither do we.)
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What Did the Chimps Do Today?
We had a lot of playful chimps today! When the humans arrived this morning we found Missy and Annie chasing each other, Burrito with a toy in his mouth ready to play chase, Foxie throwing dolls, Jody breathy panting, Negra giving kisses, and Jamie ready with a grooming tool for boots. Throughout the day there has been quite a bit of napping and nesting because it was really cold today. However, do not fret, the chimps have been very busy! Burrito has been running around with his scooter and Jamie has been reading books and stuffing trolls into paper bags. Check out the video to see a few more of today’s activities!
Brisk Mornings
Today was a beautiful brisk December morning, Jamie and I were on our usual perimeter walk. At the end of our walk I noticed Missy and Negra enjoying the warm sunshine beaming on Young’s Hill. Negra sat on a log watching Missy eat the little bit of snow left on the log, Negra then also took part in eating some snow! The Hill was pretty popular today even with the chill this morning, everyone made an appearance at one point. A little later, after I went back to the Playroom to help clean, I spotted Annie playing with the new mirror in the Greenhouse. Annie was being silly and flipping upside down and inspecting all the windows. Missy revealed herself from the cargo net near Annie, which made sense, Annie was trying to get Missy to play! It worked, they quietly played in the cargo net and I sneaked away so they could play in peace.
Negra:
Missy eating snow:
Negra on the log & Missy eating snow:
Negra:
Negra enjoying some snow:
Annie looking into the mirror:
Annie:
Annie checking the window frames:
Missy taking a turn playing with the mirror (can you see her toes?):
Laying and Playing
Foxie and Burrito are two of our most playful chimps! So when we get the chance to watch them play, it is really quite fun. Foxie and Burrito began the morning with a post breakfast nap. After, a quick power nap they started a lazy game of wrestling which turned into a full game and then back to a lazy game. Below are some photos of the progression from napping to playing. Happy Sunday!
Foxie & Burrito napping:
Foxie & Burrito wrestling:
Stilling wrestling:
Back to laying and playing:
And a few extra photo for you all…
Annie’s silhouette:
Jamie holding one of her favorite boots:
Indoor games
It’s been sunny today with no additional snow, but what we have has been taking its time melting and it’s still pretty chilly out.
The chimps have chosen to park themselves in front of sunny windows facing the valley to nap and groom and occasionally engage in games of chase, thundering through the loft of their playroom or nesting out of sight in the top of the greenhouse.
Foxie seems to be particularly enjoying the snow days and has been taking full advantage of the weather to enjoy some indoor games. She has also requested so many snowballs to eat that I think she has to take breaks in-between to be rowdy and raucous so she can warm herself up. So after a particularly large number of snowballs, we had a long bout of passing her beloved purple-haired doll back and forth with spins, leaps, pirouettes and general chimpanzee shenanigans.
Her she is lying on the heated floor playing with her doll and prepping to pass it to me through the caging:
Here she had two dolls and we were racing to pass them back and forth between us, always a favorite:
Foxie stopped to check out her image in the camera:
And what would be a proper game without standing on your head?
All those shenanigans can wear a girl out:
T-Minus 2 Days
The countdown to the spooktacular Jamieween has begun and we only have 2 more days left. The anticipation has been building and there are a lot of excited chimps and humans waiting for Tuesday to come. The chimps have been very active this morning and everyone has been exploring Young’s Hill. Unfortunately there were not many photo opportunities, but the chimps decided to save some energy for Jamieween and have been napping and grooming the rest of the afternoon.
Jamie walking the hill and staring out at the view (there were some cows in the field across the highway):
Burrito playing with one of our volunteer caregivers:
Negra:
Jody grooming herself:
There is still time to celebrate Jamie’s big day by becoming Chimp Pals with Jamie or any of her friends!
That new doll smell!
A couple of weeks ago we introduced you to Foxie’s new love of a purple haired Strawberry Shortcake doll. Well yesterday her new shiny friends arrived in the mail! Foxie was so excited that she wanted us to playfully chase her around holding the box before she could even bring herself to cuddle them.
