Jamie is intense, capable, determined, moody, stubborn, and on occasion sweet and silly.
This one is more of an outtake:
primate protection
Social Primates
While volunteers Chelsea, Erin, and Kailie were finishing up the big clean of the playroom today, I went in search of some chimpanzees.
I found all seven of them on the “top bunk” of the structure in the greenhouse. I was able to watch them for twenty minutes or so as they rested and groomed. There were frequent switches of grooming partners, with everyone receiving and giving attention at various times and then sitting quietly grooming themselves or dozing off.
It’s incredibly heartening to witness this rag-tag bunch interacting like a true chimpanzee family group. They definitely don’t always get along (no primates do, if we’re being honest), but these times of togetherness are a big part of who they have become. Even when they were focusing on themselves, they were just inches away from one other.
Here are a few photos of Missy and Jamie:
Today is in honor of Lucinda Almy-Hamilton
This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Michael Hamilton in honor of Lucinda Almy-Hamilton! Michael shares that Lucinda is an anthropologist with a keen interest in non-human primates. Each year Lucinda shares her passion for the chimps with so many of her students and we truly appreciate her contributions to furthering the awareness of these special individuals and issues primates face with so many future generations of humans.
Michael, thank you for always thinking of the chimpanzees as you celebrate Lucinda! We appreciate all you both do to bring comfort, joy, and hope to the chimps’ lives.
Lucinda, we hope you have a wonderful day! Thank you so much for all you do for the chimps and to open the minds of so many others about the unique and special individuals they are.
Jamie is a woman of many interests. Her strong and beautiful mind is an never-ending landscape of possibility:
Top Videos of 2015!?
The other day, I was looking back on the year and watched a few of our videos from 2015. I had this idea to compile some of my favorites and/or some of the most popular videos from the year in a blog post.
This turned out to be harder than I thought it would be. I really love all of the videos for different reasons, so the narrowing down process was not easy.
But, here goes…
Epic tug o’ war session between Foxie and Jamie:
Burrito and his stuffed gorilla friend:
The new structure completed in the spring:
Burrito playing with staff caregiver Keri:
This one of Negra simply because she is was so happy on her birthday:
Foxie being oh so very Foxie:
This one due to the pumpkin thieving incident:
I really think that this one is near the top of the list, even though J.B. put it together just a week ago for Christmas:
OMG – this one, especially beginning at the 2:01 mark:
Okay – I really could just to on and on. The positive reinforcement training videos are also great, and the video of the process we go through when Jamie wants to take a walk around the hill. And so many videos of the chimpanzees enjoying food. And several videos of Missy and Annie playing. And…
Did I miss your favorite? Let me know – I’m curious to hear from the chimps’ fans. You can go to our You Tube channel and take a look at 7+ years of video!
Bouncing Back
Burrito’s been through a lot lately. In early June, he fractured a canine. The injury itself didn’t seem to phase him, but in order to prevent future pain and infection, we needed to extract the tooth. In late June, we performed an exam to do some blood work, check on his heart condition, and assess how he would do under prolonged anesthesia. And in late July, we performed the extraction.
Before he came to the sanctuary from the research lab in 2008, Burrito was sedated for procedures pretty frequently. The routine nature of these “knockdowns” probably didn’t diminish the fear associated with them. Until Burrito’s tooth ordeal, we’ve been incredibly lucky that none of the chimps here have required medical intervention beyond a dose of antibiotics here or there.
When you care for former lab chimpanzees, you hope that they know they’re safe now, and that they trust the difference between their current home and their former ones. We’ve spent the last seven years working to gain these chimps’ trust, and one nagging fear is that something will happen to lose you the trust you’ve earned.
Regardless of the fact that Burrito was surrounded by friends who love him and who want the best for him, it’s likely that the two procedures he had to undergo recently brought back some scary memories from his past life. And regardless of the fact that we’ve seen firsthand how incredibly resilient and forgiving chimps can be, it’s still hard not to fear that you’re going to push things too far and damage the relationships you’ve built.
But we shouldn’t have worried. Burrito has bounced back to his sweet, goofy, mischievous, happy self. His love for the simple things in life – a ripe avocado, a good grooming session, a long and loud bout of chase with a human friend – is as strong as ever. May we all strive to be as irrepressible as this guy.
Happy Birthday, Harry Hmura!
This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Alison Chapot in honor of Harry Hmura’s birthday! Alison has been a long time supporter and friend of the chimpanzees and in celebrating today she shared, “Harry is a dear friend and advocate for apes around the world.”
Harry Hmura is a musician and volunteers his performances to bring awareness to great apes and the sanctuaries that many of these individuals call home and assist with fundraising. Gaining inspiration from Dr. Jane Goodall and all of the great apes, Harry created a unique project called, I AM, I AM, in which he composed and produced an album using great ape vocalizations. “The entire collection of great ape vocal recordings, beginning in 2007, of chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans and gibbons including background environment sounds were recorded at sanctuaries or in natural indigenous habitats around the world.”
“I AM, I AM Project’s mission is sharing half the proceeds for much needed funding with sanctuaries around the world. Sanctuaries are amazing places, innocent beautiful lives, the spirit between humans and great apes. They are home to individuals, each unique from the next with different names and faces rescued from laboratory research, the entertainment and pet industry, the bushmeat trade and loss of habitat. They provide life time care, rehabilitation, companionship, shelter, protection, even sometimes reuniting family members, bringing new meaning and desires to life.”
Alison, thank you so very much for thinking of the chimpanzees and giving them a special day as you honor your friend, Harry, and celebrate his life!
Harry, we are so grateful to you for the work you do to advocate for great apes and sanctuaries worldwide. Thank you for sharing your talent and compassion by bringing awareness of these incredibly special beings to so many others and helping to make a real difference in their lives.
Jamie, always living her life to the fullest:
Serious face
Yesterday, Elizabeth posted this great blog about Jamie—if you missed it, definitely check it out.
Normally, I try not to post about the same chimpanzee two days in a row, just to keep things varied, but I took some photos of the Boss today and couldn’t resist putting them on the blog. Jamie was just chillin’ in the greenhouse this afternoon, demonstrating her serious face.
After I took these photos, she came down to take a look at them. She seemed to approve, so I figured they were good to go!
