Boss Jamie does frequent patrols of the perimeter of the chimps’ outdoor habitat to make sure everything is on the up and up. These patrols happen multiple times each day, and most of the time Jamie prefers for a caregiver or three to accompany her (and sometimes some of the other chimps tag along also). A walk around the hilly 2-acre habitat is good exercise for everyone involved, but occasionally Jamie pushes us to go a little faster.
young's hill
Burrito and Foxie
In free-living populations of chimpanzees, male chimps are the dominant group leaders. At the sanctuary, this is not the case. While Burrito, the only male chimpanzee in the group, acts pretty tough when he chases the females around the playroom during his wild displays, he doesn’t really understand how to be a leader, and therefore doesn’t get the same respect in return. Most of his displays end when one of the girls has had enough, and starts leading the cavalry charge against him. Foxie is probably his best friend of the group and he looks to her for a lot of reassurance. Foxie is more than happy to be the calm presence in his life that he needs, but is also ready to put him in his place if he pushes her too far.
Bonus!
More Negra on the hill this morning, because we can’t get enough!
An awestruck Jody
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
–Anne of Green Gables
L.M. Montgomery
Negra goes outside, just because she can!
This morning I opened the door to Young’s Hill and 6 chimpanzees poured out onto the hill to investigate any changes that might have happened overnight in their 2 acre outdoor enclosure. Moments after opening the door, Negra surprised me by venturing out as well. I expected her to stop and maybe eat a little Autumn grass before going back inside, but instead she continued further out onto the hill and climbed a structure where she could overlook the valley below the sanctuary. Negra is mainly motivated by food and comfortable beds, and she seems to go outdoors primarily to forage, so I was pretty excited for her to feel secure enough to go out on the hill, just to get some sunshine and enjoy the view.
After taking a few photos, I left her to clean the playroom. Twenty minutes later, I peaked out the window and saw that she was still there, with the same dreamy look in her eyes! Elizabeth took a few more photos.
When Negra is outside, the other chimps get pretty excited about it too. Today, Missy and Jamie surrounded her for some grooming.
Crisp days and spooky nights
We’ve already seen some snow in the surrounding mountains and apparently have a long stretch of rain on the way, but for now the days have been dawning with beautiful blue skies and crisp, frosty mornings. Despite being able to see our breath in the morning air, the chimps have been loving being on Young’s Hill and waiting to warm up in the bright sun:
Peas-in-a-pod, Annie and Missy, climbed up together to enjoy the view in the cold autumn air:
Jody sat for ages in the morning sun then ventured up the hill for a snack to bring back to the top of the greenhouse where she could warm up:
And much to my surprise, when Jamie and I were returning from a walk around the hill, I spotted Negra of all people enjoying the sun and the view despite the cold temperatures:
I think Foxie was just as surprised to spot Negra out on such a brisk morning and decided she and her current favorite doll would check in on Negra:
Double-decker chimps:
In other news, Jamie has been doing something new this year! As a little background, if you’ve been a follower of the blog for very long you are probably aware that Jamie often enjoys late evening strolls with her caregivers. After dinner, after the other chimps have gone to bed, and past the time that her caregivers are supposed to go home for the day. We can’t blame her, evenings at the sanctuary are lovely, peaceful times and during summer a welcome relief from the heat of the day. We’ve adjusted our schedule so that we all rotate to cover PM on call in the evenings and two of us can be with her in the event that she (or anyone else) chooses to stay out past the end of our shift. This is one of many beauties of sanctuary; the chimps get to choose when they want to come in for the night. And it’s really a heartfelt joy and honor to be able to provide such a home for them.
Up until this year, we knew that even if Jamie wanted to stay out late, once it got dark she was ready to come inside. Well, that’s no longer the case! Back in August, and again last night, Jamie decided to brave walking around the hill with us in the pitch dark! The first time Jamie did this she was clearly nervous, but clearly wanted to go so Kelsi and I grabbed the spotlight and scanned the hill for her so she could see everything and know she was safe. It took her awhile to build up her courage, but once she made up her mind we were off! Kelsi held a light for us to see where we were going while I held the spotlight just ahead of Jamie to light her path. At every corner of the perimeter we’d stop and I’d light up the entire path ahead of her to remind her she was safe and then we’d venture on.
It’s phenomenal to me when I think how much courage this took for her to do. Not only is it entirely unnatural for a chimp to be on the ground outside in the dark (let alone one who spent three decades in a small cage in biomedical research), but she had to trust us enough to hold the light for her all the way around and not leave her. But once we made our way safely around she was thrilled, ready to go again! We walked around and around that night, carving a path with the light until 10:30!
So last night Jamie decided she was ready for another brave adventure. In the spirit of spooky, magical autumn nights and the month of Jamie-ween (we celebrate Jamie’s birthday on Halloween) here is Jamie in the pitch dark of the green house last night gesturing for Kelsi and I to put on the cowboy boots and get ready to run around the hill again. To say she was thrilled with the evening is an understatement. You can see the light from the chimp house through the doorway behind her where everyone else was cozy and asleep in their night nests. And what better way to celebrate Jamie’s birthday month and get into the spirit of Jamie-ween than a photo a little reminiscent of the “Blair Chimp Project”:
Forage While We Can
What a great day to be at the sanctuary! The morning started chilly and we thought the chimps couldn’t possibly want a forage on the Hill. But, to our delight it was the perfect day to be outside and especially to have a forage on the Hill. It is important to spend time outside while we can before the dreaded winter comes. The chimps spent a great deal of their day in the Green House and out on Young’s Hill. We also had some visitors for our lunch forage that Jamie was very curious about. She even had the group walk the perimeter with her.
Negra nestled in the comfy nest soaking up the morning sun:
Jody also relaxing in a soft warm bed soaking up some vitamin D:
Missy sitting on the window ledge in the Green House:
Annie being very photogenic as per usual:
Negra enjoying the forage and observing guests:
Annie foraging:
Jody with a handful of food and trying if there is any more left:
Jamie sitting on the fire hose and eating kale:
Jamie also wanted to show off a bit for the group:
And man does she have balance:
After Jamie made the group go on a walk with her:
The Deputy
As many of you know, Jamie considers herself the boss of all the primates that surround her. She rules with an iron fist, not always clear about what she wants, but definitely firm that she NEEDS it NOW. Missy in a one-on-one interaction with a caregiver can range from playful to aloof, all while being relatively casual, relaxed and easygoing. However, put her in close proximity to an annoyed group mate, she becomes an entirely different chimpanzee. Most of the chimps will threat bark or bang at caregivers when they don’t like something they are doing. This is exactly how you might think, a simple way of saying “what do you think you’re doing?” Sometimes this behavior requires that the caregiver make simple adjustments like serving a food item slower (Negra doesn’t like fast movement) or serving faster (Jamie needs a second serving right NOW). These reminders are often followed with a much more intense threat from Missy. Missy is infamous for sharply casting retribution down onto caregivers who have somehow (no matter how innocently) wronged her friends. Her threat bark is more of a “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?! WHO GAVE YOU CLEARANCE TO DO THAT?! YOU BETTER KNOCK IT OFF RIGHT NOW!!” If you’ve ever seen Missy full-on threaten a caregiver, you’ll know exactly why we don’t go into the enclosures with the chimpanzees.
Missy looked a bit like a body guard today as Jamie relaxed in her tunnel hideout:
