Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Play

Everything in His Arsenal

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When Burrito wants a caregiver to play with him, he dips into his toolkit of irresistibly charming play initiation behaviors. Things start out innocently enough.

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But as soon as he makes eye contact, you know it’s all over.

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He holds your gaze while biting on the nearest object.

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He might add a head tilt for good measure.

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If that doesn’t get you, he’ll throw in a play bow.

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And if by some miracle you’re still not won over, he pulls out the trump card: the joyful blanket fling.

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Try saying no to that.

Missy interrupts Annie making a nest

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Missy is Annie’s best friend, but she is more dominant on the chimp hierarchy. Today she took Annie’s place in a huge paper nest Annie built (called “displacement”), but Annie didn’t get upset—instead, she started to play.

There’s something about Burrito

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So, by now, you just might be aware that Burrito likes to bite on things (his hand, wooden toys.) It’s certainly true that he often uses this gesture as a way to initiate play with others. However, just as frequently, he’ll simply incorporate it into his play alone. Today I found him playing by himself in the front rooms as we cleaned the playroom and just couldn’t help capturing it on film for you. He looks pretty content to me!

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That’s what friends are for!

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I don’t know what it is about Sundays this winter but it seems like much of the less pleasant weather has been saving itself for the weekends this season. While many of the days this winter have been mild and spring-like today, and many Sundays of recent memory, cannot be considered either of those! Whether it was the weather that contributed or something else entirely Jamie did not appear to wake up on the right side of the nest this morning. Luckily, she’s got an excellent friend in Foxie! Foxie was persistent and managed to turn Jamie’s frown upside down after a bit of effort. Check out the resulting play session.

Zen Sand Garden

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Supporter Michelle C. recently sent the chimpanzees a very unique gift – a piece of the Florida beach along with some little shovels. Today we set up the gift from afar in the sandbox table.

Looking at the set up reminded me of those zen sand gardens that are sold to business executives. This one, of course, catered to Jamie (note the boot).

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Sand with boot in sand table

There’s a video in the middle of this post of Jamie truly looking pretty zen as she played in the sand. The other chimps weren’t sure what to make of the stuff. They’ve had sand before (one of my favorite memories is Jody laying in the sandbox in the greenhouse on “Spa Day” ). But the chimps had probably never encountered the soft white sand of the Florida beaches.

Jody and Foxie getting a closer look:

Jody and Foxie inspecting the sand

 

Annie joining the inspection:

Jody, Foxie and Annie inspecting the sand

 

Jody digging in:

Jody sifting sand

 

And Jamie getting zen:

Jamie with two shovels in sand

Jamie hands in sand

Jamie shovelful of sand

Jamie putting sand in boot

Fun for Everyone

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We received some fun toys for the chimpanzees recently and it appears as though the advertisements were correct, “slinky” (or the magic spring as ours are called) is apparently fun for everyone, including chimpanzees! Here is Missy enjoying the new enrichment and thank you for donating these wonderfully entertaining toys!

Missy discovering the box:
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Missy opening the box:
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Missy playing with her “magic spring:”
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Missy and Annie play wrestle

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Are you sick of seeing Missy and Annie play? I didn’t think so! These two are always wrestling and having a good time. Here’s a video that is bound to brighten your Tuesday afternoon: