Jody, the blanket hog

January 12, 2011 by Elizabeth -

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Yesterday after playroom cleaning, instead of distributing the clean blankets around the room, we put most of them in a big pile. We figured that the chimpanzees would stop by the heap, take what they needed to build their nests, and move on. Jody, though, had different ideas. She made a beeline for the blanket mountain and immediately went to work.

YouTube video

19 Comments

  1. Avatar Rachelle on January 12, 2011 at 2:41 pm

    Thanks for sharing these moments!
    Reminds me of Donna Rae and her blankets..

    Thanks for all you do!



  2. marie cross (uk) on January 12, 2011 at 2:46 pm

    oh this is wonderful ! what a happy content girl i love how she keeps having a lie back to check the comfort ! and her belly 🙂 i could watch chimps nest build all day long !

    ps how long did Jody manage to hang onto her stash of blankest ? x



    • Avatar Elizabeth on January 12, 2011 at 3:26 pm

      Once the nest was finally complete, she stayed there for maybe ten minutes. She got up to check out the enrichment in the playroom.



      • marie cross (uk) on January 12, 2011 at 3:52 pm

        thanks Elizabeth 🙂



        • Avatar Rita Stevenson on April 6, 2014 at 5:03 pm

          Thank you
          Elizabeth,
          You know how much I love Jody!
          Seeing her build her nest with ALL the blankets she can handle is BEAUTIFUL .
          Jody is totally comfortable with HER OWN activity,
          and no body disturbs her , nor interrupts her whilst she is conducting her very own and most favored activity!
          This group of chimps have been through so much together, from the worst of years , to the best years ,
          I’m sure .. they see and feel just how stable everything is at CSNW.. Routines and patterns of everything involving staff must be so re assuring to them all,
          every thing is predictable,
          ie Daily dietary services ,, breakfast smoothies, like clock work,
          staff clean their sleep time areas, etc,
          All that is done for them is routine process,
          NOTHING is done to them
          ALL is done for them, this in itself MUST give them, such RELEIF and Assurance
          I’ve often wondered ,though,
          when Burrito,,, in particular is confronted with something new,
          he tends to be afraid, but Foxie and even JAMIE, are/were ALWAYS there to HUG him, hold him,
          pep talk him, and re assure him
          I think ~ via Chimp to Chimp ~
          they DO communicate telepathically
          of sorts,, and say ,,,
          hey dude, you, we , me, aint going nowhere,
          I always marvel at Foxie.. who is usually. the first.. to tune in, and zone in on baby Burrito …
          when he is upset or afraid,

          After, the decades of lingering and suffering in laboratory’s .
          being together/ALONE in separate cages,
          I’m sure they ALL have some hidden language which chimps ONLY can understand and are meant to understand amongst themselves as a survival mechanism,
          SO
          when ever I see Jody experiencing SUCH delight and such comfort in HER own process of choosing blankets, by the colors , sizes, and then strategically placing them as she deems fit
          then how she conducts comfort tests, and finally rests, briefly,
          I rejoice, because its HERS,,
          its Jody’s choice… to OWN IT…
          its in the PROCESS.. that matters,
          its FREEDOM//



  3. Avatar Kat Morrell on January 12, 2011 at 3:07 pm

    Best….Bed….Ever.

    Loved that yawn at the end.



  4. Avatar Margaret and Karen on January 12, 2011 at 3:23 pm

    Oh our Jody and her nests! I loved the little wriggle she did every now and again to test out the comfort. The yawn and stretch at the end melted my heart permanently! So, did no one else get blankets last night?



    • Avatar Julie Harding on January 12, 2011 at 8:29 pm

      Loved the stretch and yawn at the end too!!! Gratification in the nest!!



  5. Avatar tanis on January 12, 2011 at 3:51 pm

    Amazing ! I love how delicately she uses her fingers to open up the blankets…always amazed how gentle they can be with their touch, knowing how strong they can be.



  6. Avatar Linda (Portland, OR) on January 12, 2011 at 4:14 pm

    Looked very comfortable………………………she’s so meticulous with them. Same way we humans do it every night! You know how it is if you can’t find the right spot on your pillow every night. We’ll sit up and pound those pillows into mush to find our fave spot!

    She’s so gentle while going through those blankets.

    Loved, loved, loved the yawn and that beatiful belly!! 🙂



  7. Avatar Anna on January 12, 2011 at 5:04 pm

    LOL – now you have an idea for Jody’s next birthday party! Put out the biggest pile of blankets EVER – huge! And see if she jumps in it. 🙂



  8. Avatar Marcia Douthwaite on January 12, 2011 at 5:16 pm

    All she needed was a pillow or two on which to rest her head. She is the Comfort Queen!



  9. Avatar Kate on January 12, 2011 at 6:43 pm

    Melts my heart to see that sweet belly of hers and how comfy and cozy she is. Super sweet. I am going to go build my own blankie nest!



  10. Avatar Cindy on January 12, 2011 at 9:26 pm

    A girl after my own heart, there was a stretch and squish in there that was priceless!



  11. Jeani Goodrich on January 13, 2011 at 7:53 pm

    Yes Cindy! I loved that stretch and squish. You could almost hear her purr in contentmen(Do chimps purr?) Yes I am a cat person.



  12. Avatar Kat Morrell on January 14, 2011 at 12:37 am

    Do they ever cover themselves with blankets like we do when we sleep. I know that Negra and others sometimes put a blanket over their heads…but I kept waiting for Jody to cover up for her nap.



    • Avatar Elizabeth on January 18, 2011 at 2:40 pm

      Hi, Kat. Sorry I’m late in responding to this. Jamie likes to nap with a sheet covering her. She usually pulls it up to cover her shoulders, leaving her head exposed.



  13. Avatar Theresa on January 15, 2011 at 7:41 am

    LOL! I love the wiggling and settling to find just the right spot. I can almost hear her comfy sigh when she yawns at the end of building her masterpiece. So human.



  14. Avatar Nancy Lewis on April 6, 2014 at 4:38 pm

    I haven’t seen this video before. I can’t help but smile as she carefully opens them up, spreads them equally around her, and particularly how she lays back and wiggles herself into them to be sure it’s comfortable! amazing…



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