Food and Friends
November 3, 2012 by Diana -
Today was overcast but surprisingly warm. The chimps spent most of the morning on the hill. Missy was so happy!
I was watching Foxie and noticed that she did not have a troll doll with her. I thought, “that’s weird.” Then, I scanned the landscape and noticed that Jamie had a troll doll in her hand…
Less than a minute later, Jamie had climbed down from the structure.
Foxie approached her, pant-grunting (a submissive behavior). Jamie immediately handed Foxie the troll doll.
Then, Foxie turned and Jamie followed her up the hill.
This was the second troll doll exchange we’ve photographed in the last week (see Elizabeth’s post of the first exchange). Pretty fascinating!
For lunch, we decided spread out a forage of tomatoes, small peppers, Brussels sprouts on their stalks, lettuce and chow all over the two-acres. Foraging for food is serious business, and it’s what free-living chimps spent a lot of their time doing in the forests.
It’s awesome to see a whole group together doing what comes naturally, like in this photo below of Burrito (bottom right), Foxie (carrying the green-haired troll on her back), Jody (to the left of Foxie), Annie (bipedal) and Missy (on the structure). In case you’re wondering, caregivers do get very good at identifying chimps from behind – each backside is unique too, after all.
Jamie was off on her own collecting Brussels sprouts and peppers.
We scattered the food everywhere, including the top of the structures. Missy doesn’t need much motivation to climb.
Burrito’s motivation seemed to be to join Foxie
Once he was up there, he took in the view. The black and orange in the background is the hill that burned during the Taylor Bridge Fire in August.
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It is good to see Mr. B climbing the structures. His confidence is growing also.
Love that pic of Jamie. She definitely looks like a chimp on a mission. You can see why she’s the leader.
Great pics!
Thanks for sharing the day 🙂 Great Slideshow & Narrating! The Troll exchange is priceless <3
Enjoyed it all very much. And yikes, It’s still shocking seeing how close the fire came to the grounds. Thanks for sharing.
Don and I are sitting in our sun porch watching the leaves fall. The colors are rich and beautiful, each leaf unique . It is beautiful to watch, mesmerizing just like it is watching the chimps on the hill. I found myself wondering what they would do if a mountain of leaves was before them. They might jump in, grab some leaves and have a leaf fight with each other or they might run back to the safety of the greenhouse! The point is that when faced with new experiences, such as the vastness of the hill, each in time decided it was safe and fun to be exploying the experience with friends! It is a good thing to take baby steps and the chimps instinctively know that. They are really enjoying the hill. Each day brings new adventures for them and surprises for the staff such as the troll doll pass. What is next? We can’t wait to find out. Each time we see them free with the sky above them, we pinch ourselves. What you guys have done for the CleElum 7 in such a short period of time is a miracle! Your dedication to their health and happiness is apparent. Thanks for all you do! Karen and Don