Jody’s been known to head straight up to the top of Young’s Hill as soon as we open the door, and sometimes disappear in the grass for quite some time. Chimpanzees are very social by nature, and the Cle Elum Seven seem to genuinely enjoy each other’s company for the most part, but it must be nice to finally have space to get away and enjoy some private time.
Yesterday JB walked up to the top of Young’s Hill to get some shots of the chimps from that angle. The sky was blue and the sun was out, and it made for a really pretty backdrop.
As we mentioned on the Facebook page yesterday, sometimes the daily routine fluctuates, and as caregivers we have to be pretty flexible depending on the choices the chimps make. Typically though, we do have a regular schedule. First we invite the chimpanzees in for breakfast—and as long as everybody comes in, one person (the Care staff or Level III volunteer) will serve breakfast while the other person (the Lead Caregiver) will start cleaning the playroom. We never enter an enclosure at the same time as the chimpanzees, so we have to ensure that all the chimps are out of the room we want to clean, and that every chimp door is secure. We do this for cleaning the playroom, front rooms, and the greenhouse. (To see what cleaning is like, watch this video from a couple years ago). Today things followed the regular routine, which you’ll see in the video below.
Sometimes, no matter how sweet you are, you just don’t get what you want.
Jody is often the first to go out onto the hill when we open it up these days. She may not go out right away, but once she builds up the initiative, she goes! And often Foxie is right there with her. Yesterday, Jody waited a long time before going out but then she all the sudden came charging into the greenhouse from the playroom and walked right out there, with Annie and Foxie right behind her.
But, later Foxie took “following Jody” to a whole new level:
And when Jody decided it was time to go back inside…
Foxie was still right behind her…
and Annie came running after
As many of our readers know, Jamie is the most dominant chimp of the Cle Elum Seven. That means that if food is nearby, whether she is interested in it at that moment or not, the other chimps respect it as hers and avoid grabbing anything that she might consider her own. You’ll see a couple interesting politics in the following video. Burrito knows that Jamie has left some chow on the floor and abandoned them to start wrestling with Foxie. He’s waiting for a point where he can take advantage of that distraction and get the chow pieces for himself. Once he eventually gets his opportunity, Foxie catches him in the act, and wants some for herself. Although Jamie still appears uninterested, Foxie asks for her permission to take some chow… but Jamie decides that she wants to keep the few pieces remaining for herself.
Jody almost always has a drooped lip when she’s out on the hill. We’ve been referring to it as her “Young’s Hill Face”
Today, her droopy lip seemed to be mixed in with a bit of a sneer. Sometimes I sneer when I’m cold!
She sure does have a beautiful face though…
The other day, we put a mostly empty plastic peanut butter jar in with the chimps’ enrichment, which is something we often do when we’ve used the bulk of the peanut butter- the chimps spend hours trying to get the peanut butter remnants off the insides! Foxie was the lucky one who found it first the other day, and she took it on quite the adventure. First, she had it in the playroom. Later, she took it out with her into the greenhouse, and then she and her peanut butter jar went on a hike on Young’s Hill.
She took it with her as she climbed up and down a couple of the climbing structures and then around the perimeter, enjoying the occasional snack. At one point, Jody decided to start a game of chase. She got in front of Foxie and started playfully walking backwards, encouraging Foxie to follow her.
They played for a little while, but then Foxie got distracted and put down the jar. I can’t say if Jody had an ulterior motive for starting the game of chase, but it definitely seemed to work in her favor.
Jody enjoying the peanut butter jar in the greenhouse:
Negra continued her playful streak this morning, but I think her real intention was to steal Jody’s bed.
As J.B. mentioned in his post the other day, it has been really cold in Cle Elum, but we still haven’t had much snow. We have had significant doses of hoar frost though, which is beautiful! Maybe it’s not as exciting as snow to some, but Jody and Foxie have really been enjoying licking it off of things.
Jody licking hoar frost off of the log bridge:
Foxie was really enjoying licking it off of the climbing structure
And later, Jody joined her
Hoar frost on a tree
Insulated Water Bottles
Made by Hydro Flask, the double-wall insulation of these 24oz bottles keeps liquids cold for 24 hours or hot for 12 hours. Made from stainless steel with a BPA free plastic cap and featuring the sanctuary's Jody logo. Get yours today! Shop for all items in the online store.
Register now for Race for the Apes, the sanctuary's first 5K fundraiser in Ellensburg, WA. The event on Sunday, May 20th is open to everyone. Register to run, walk, sponsor, or create your own fundraising page. More details on the Race for the Apes event page.
Chimp Sanctuary NW blog
