She’s really smart.
tool use
Jamie’s Mission
This morning, as I was putting away a squeegee, I accidentally knocked a broom off of the tool rack. I watched it slide to within inches of the playroom caging and before my brain could finish processing the thought that Jamie might be able to grab it, Jamie grabbed it.
Now, the most important thing to convey here is that Jamie really likes to stab and/or threaten to stab humans when she obtains contraband like this. So the first thing you do in this situation is take a big step back. Then you watch helplessly as she tries to knock smoke detectors off the ceiling (a real possibility) and jimmy open every door and window in the chimp house (not going to happen with a broom stick, thankfully).
But today was different. As soon as she had the broom she walked off with clear purpose and intent. And the whole gang gathered behind her as if Jamie had given the cue and the secret plan they had been hatching for weeks was finally called into action.
Their mission: To see inside the new addition.
We’ve given them glimpses into the new quarantine and introduction area connected to their playroom before, but during the construction process we’ve largely kept the door covered with a piece of plywood to protect workers from getting spit on and to keep the building heat in. Clearly we didn’t consult the chimps about that plan, and they were forced to take the matter into their own hands.
Jamie and the Tumbleweed
Sometimes the chimpanzees do something we’ve never seen before. Once in a while we are able to capture it on video!
Morning on the Hill
The volunteers set out a forage on the hill this morning.
After an initial course of smoothie, vitamins, and peanuts, the chimps went outside to search for pieces of orange, plum, grapefruit, and banana as well as some primate chow.
Jamie (below and at the top of the post):
Negra:
Burrito, confronting the dilemma faced by most male chimpanzees from time immemorial – do I feed myself and otherwise engage in the basic behaviors necessary to sustain life, or I do I follow that girl in estrus wherever she goes? For the most part, he chose the latter (poor Jody), but he did manage to grab a few scraps of food along the way.
Missy:
Annie, developing a nice wadge of primate chow:
Not to be outdone, Jody made a wadge of her own:
And finally, Foxie:
Though we didn’t fill the termite mound with food this morning, Foxie nevertheless checked its contents using a tool and technique never seen before in any wild population: Strawberry Shortcake dipping.
Work smarter, not harder
Jamie may be one of the fastest and strongest chimps in her group, but why work so hard when you don’t have to?
New Enrichment
We’re always on the hunt for new enrichment ideas. Here are a couple simple ones that we’ve recently introduced. Both are Jamie-approved!
Trying new things
The other day, after the PRT session that Elizabeth filmed, Jamie and I followed a typical post-PRT routine. Because I had spent the last fifteen minutes requesting that she do things, it was her turn to request that I do something (I’m pretty sure that Jamie believes it is ALWAYS time for the humans to do something for her, but I digress). So I put on her latest favorite pair of boots, we did a perimeter walk, and afterward we settled in for a grooming session in the greenhouse.
Jamie is easily the most dexterous chimpanzee I’ve ever known, and she’s a master at using tools. Her fine-motor ability is really quite impressive. Just watch this video of Jamie giving J.B. a “manicure” and read this story about her tool-altering skills and forethought.
It was just Jamie in the greenhouse, grooming my fingers and the boots, when Annie came over with a tool of her own.
For the first several years of Annie’s sanctuary life, she didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to the humans – not because she wasn’t interested in us, but, I think, because she was a ball of anxiety, and she didn’t want to over-step her place in the social world of chimpanzees and humans. We have written many times on the blog about Annie’s ever-growing confidence in the last few years (for example, this touching post from Elizabeth).
We’ve witnessed all of the chimpanzees trying new things over the last nine+ years at the sanctuary. We’ve gotten to know them so well that when they do something new, it stands out. You may already be familiar with “Fake Neggie” – a nickname for Missy when she is adopting Negra’s quintessential blanket-over-head nesting style.
You may not know that there was a time a few years ago when Negra decided troll dolls were her thing too, carrying one with her from bed to meals to adventures on Young’s Hill.
It lasted for a few weeks, then the fad seemed to pass for Negra and she’s been mostly troll-less ever since, leaving the doll obsession to Foxie.
Jody is sometimes seen with troll dolls, and Annie tries them out once in a while too.
Imitation is an important part of observing and learning. J.B. wrote a blog post back in 2012 about how copying the behavior of others shouldn’t be dismissed as somehow intellectually unimpressive. It’s worth the read.
When Annie confidently walked towards me with her rather blunt tool and pushed it out through the caging to groom the boot I was wearing, my smile could not have been any bigger. She was clumsy and awkward with the over-sized tool she had chosen, but she gave it a go, even with boss Jamie sitting right there to watch.
Annie didn’t stay long, and I don’t think she had any kind of magical insight about why Jamie spends so much time engaging in this behavior.
To have an interesting and full life and to get a better idea of who you are, you have to try new things – even things you aren’t sure you will be good at doing. Annie seems to know this now. She’s 100% signed up for this sanctuary life, and I have no doubt she and her chimpanzee companions will continue to try new things, figuring out more about themselves and delighting and surprising us along the way.
