Time on the hill and relatives
November 3, 2011 by Jackie -
We have had pretty sunny weather lately, but it’s getting colder and colder these days (we even have snow in the forecast!) so the chimps have been spending less and less time on Young’s Hill, but that does not mean that they don’t want the option! As I type, Jody is blocking the door in the raceway, even though no one, including her, has had any interest in going out there for at least the last hour. It’s all about choices around here, so I’ll give her as much time as she needs.
Here are a few photos from the last couple of days of folks enjoying the hill. I’m pretty much addicted to taking photos of people out there. I still can’t get over it.
Missy:
Annie:
Foxie has been getting more comfortable and ambitious on the hill these days:
as is Burrito:
Speaking of Burrito, I recently learned that Burrito has a half brother, Clay, who lives at Save the Chimps in Florida. Clay and Burrito have the same father, Mack, who passed away at Save the Chimps a little over a year ago, and Clay’s mother is none other than our Jody! One of our former volunteers, Janie, is working at Save the Chimps now and reported that Clay has many of the same mannerisms as Jody and Burrito, including Mr. B’s signature always-pilo erect hair (pilo erect is the technical term for when your hair stands on end). Check out Clay’s profile on the Save the Chimps website. To me, he looks almost exactly like Burrito with Jody’s almond eyes. The last photo on Clay’s page is a photo of his profile. I found the following older photo of Burrito for comparison.
12 Comments
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How sweet! I can totally see both Burrito and Jody in that last picture of Clay. I think it’s so cool when you can find the chimp’s relatives. 🙂
Burrito and Clay look so much alike!
Wow! They sure do! They could be twins! And to think Jody is Clay’s Mom. That is so cool. Thanks for the info and the pictures Jackie.
It is so sad that Jody was only allowed to be a mother to Clay for 10 hours. No wonder he has issues, but I know they give him lots of love and special attention there.
Interesting history, poor Clay living alone. Jackie, the photos are choice and I’m so pleased to see that all of them are taking advantage of their wonderful hill, as they see fit. Thank you!
It looks like Bobby is Burrito’s brother too. 🙂
http://www.savethechimps.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=photo.album&id=58&
It looks like Bobby is Burrito’s brother too! 🙂
http://www.savethechimps.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=photo.album&id=58&
awww, you can tell they are brothers, they look so much alike. but what a terrible life poor Clay had before he came to Save The Chimps.
What a sad cruel history that Clay has, I do see the resemblence between Clay and Burrito. Very glad they are both in a safe loving place now. However, at the end of the day it leaves one very sad and ashamed at how chimpanzees have been exploited in the name of ‘science’ and not a little angry that it is still going on.
Can we call Jody Burrito’s step-mom now?
Clay’s story just broke my heart. People sure do suck sometimes. I’m glad there are some nice ones taking care of him now.
Although I understand that the three will ever be united, what would happen if Clay were to be introduced into the Cle Elum 7? Would there be fights between the two brothers because another male was introduced? Would they even know they are related? Would Jody recognize that Clay was her son? Would the other females shun or fight with Clay as an outsider?
It is sad that they were never allowed to grow up together in their natural environment or with family units but they are three lucky chimps to be in sanctuaries with loving caregivers.
from reading the profile on Clay, he can’t live with any other chimps – he lives alone, and seems to prefer it that way, becoming dangerously aggressive to other chimps when they tried to socialize him. That’s the saddest thing of all, given how much we can see with the CE7 that chimps normally really need their families, the comfort and the companionship. And poor Clay has been so traumatized that he can never experience that. my heart just breaks when I think of him. But now he has caregivers to keep him company instead of abusers. And that’s something wonderful. I wonder myself if Jody might be the only chimp alive that he might recognize, and not be afraid of. Just how strong is the maternal bond, and even if she only cared for him for ten hours, he lived inside of her for much longer than that. I wonder if he would recognize his mom….