Jamie is a walking machine. All day long, she asks – OK, demands – for her caregivers to put on some cowboy boots and join her on patrol of her two-acre enclosure. How does a chimpanzee who doesn’t know sign language make such a complex demand? Part of it is that we just know Jamie well – over the years, we’ve figured out what she likes through a lot of trial and error and we’ve settled into a routine. But as you can see in this video, she also makes herself understood through a lot of pointing, gesturing, and stomping. And if you’ve ever visited another country and were forced to communicate through gesture (and maybe some stomping as frustration set in), you know that you can actually communicate a lot of information that way.
Jamie doesn’t care if we’re in the middle of something else, like cleaning enclosures or washing toys, when she asks. When she wants to walk, we’re expected to drop everything and comply. But hey, you can’t say no to the boss…
