The elk that stole my job
March 4, 2016 by J.B. -
Many of you know that Jamie likes to be accompanied by a caregiver when she patrols Young’s Hill, her 2-acre enclosure. It’s the best part of the job, in my opinion – fresh air, exercise, and some quality bonding time between chimps and the humans that care for them. And if I’m being honest, it’s just nice to feel needed once and a while.
But it looks like us humans won’t be needed much longer.
This morning, Jamie and Burrito took a walk around the hill with our neighborhood elk, Ellie. This wasn’t the type of patrol we typically see in response to an intruder – Jamie wasn’t aggressive or even particularly vigilant. In fact, it looked to me like the same leisurely stroll that we take with Jamie every day…I mean, used to take every day. Before Ellie took over.
At least Jamie still needs us to clean her enclosures. For now.
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And so the plotting begins….. ruh roh
That’s hysterical and magical at the same time!
This is absolutely charming!
OMG this is hilarious. I notice that Ellue does not have to wear boots!
Not everyone has a companion elk……I have the feeling the humans aren’t “fired” just yet, maybe it’s just the variety of interspecies relationship that’s alluring! Ellie in boots…is that the next step?
This is funny! Question: Is this Ellie’s first appearance this year after all of your winter snow? Maybe Jamie is just happy to see her old familiar ‘friend’ again and by tomorrow she’ll be all over “intruder patrol” again! I love the surprises that happen on Young’s Hill!
Ellie never really left this year. She spent about three weeks at the neighbor’s ranch in December and then reappeared at our end of the canyon. I think she realized that she could eat hay with our other neighbor’s horses, and there’s just so much more exciting activity around here. This is both a blessing and a curse – a blessing because everyone loves Ellie and likes to see each day that she is safe, and a curse because she doesn’t get along with our dogs and she has also been a little intimidating to the humans lately. When 600 pounds of Ellie comes running towards you in a pasture, it can be a bit frightening. We always hoped that she would rejoin a herd, but I think she is firmly established here in Bristol Flats. Now we need to find an expert in cross-fostered elk behavior to help us learn to live with her 🙂
Thanks for the reply J.B. I can see that when you write your book on CSNW you will need to devote an entire chapter to Ellie! For now, you might have to build another exterior fence to keep the stray creatures away from the caregiver patrols — 600 lbs, yikes! Poor Ellie, I’ll keep my ears open for an elk behaviorist! : )
Oh the interesting blogs we get to read daily! It’s hard to imagine what could be next but we will all be waiting to hear about it from the caregivers, especially since they’ll have extra time on their hands, not having to walk Jamie. LOL.
Sweet!
Thanks for posting!
I love that Ellie is still around!
Looks like sentry patrol she’s all over her job so cute
I was wondering about Ellie. Glad to see her again.
Let me guess,,,, Over the weekend,,,, Ellie is now wearing boots. 🙂 Jamie has probably already figured out elk language,,,,, I’d keep an eye on them, if they start chatting more than average, they may start planning an escape to broaden Jamie’s experiences. For now, she has someone ‘new’ to boss around. lol