Foxie and the garter snake
July 6, 2013 by Debbie -
Chimps are very investigative, defensive, and at times aggressive. Combine all these characteristics and add a small garter snake into the equation and you get a whole group of chimps ready to attack an intruder! This morning a garter snake made its way into the greenhouse and the chimps were on high alert. Everyone took a second to peer at it, but most kept their distance. Foxie, however, showed a lot of bravery and was doing her best to protect her home by trying to attack the snake (but without touching it).
The chimps encounter snakes every now and then. They’re very careful not too get too close to something that raises so much alarm, which is a smart instinct. Thankfully, garter snakes are completely harmless so there’s nothing to really worry about if they do touch it. In fact after filming this attack, I closed off the greenhouse and picked up the snake (who was still alive) and took him to a nice garden area that I thought he’d pretty happy about. I apparently don’t have a huge fear of snakes because I was holding him for awhile, talking to volunteers Patti and Connie about how we were going to set up today’s lunch forage, when they said “will you just put that snake down already?!” Like I said, harmless 🙂
The snakes seem to be good at “playing dead” so as not to actually get killed. At the end of the video you’ll see that Jamie was fairly convinced Foxie had taken care of the problem, and then left it alone. I was glad to be able to rescue it and find that he was not at all harmed.
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Foxie is fierce! Who knew lol?
Did she hit at it with her hand or a tool? I couldn’t tell, but it sounded as though it would have hurt if that was her hand. BTW….she handled it about the same way I would have. And I love Jamie’s pose looking at the snake…
She smacked it with her hand! Sounded pretty rough, but since chimps’ bones are denser than ours, it’s not painful for them. Shocking the snake made it without a scratch though!
Thank you for sharing the lives of these amazing animals. Love the video
You go girl! The way Foxie was hitting the snake it’s a wonder it’s still alive. Jamies stance at the end was hilarious. Always enjoy watching the videos of the chimps – thanks for sharing.
LOL I’d be reacting the same way, even if it was only a garter snake! Which yoga pose was that Jamie was doing while checking that snake out? 😀
Poor snake! Glad to hear it was still alive and got rescued. Happy ending for everyone – Foxie for bravely doing away with it, Jamie for making sure it smelled dead, and Debbie for setting the poor terrified snake free!
Snakes not welcome in this yard
I, too, am glad you were able to rescue it and set it free. Hard to believe, though, that it actually survived that onslaught!
Yes, it’s pretty amazing. He/she really was just fine!
That was awesome!
That was some pose there at the end. So funny.
I love how after Foxie smacks the cement she looks at her hand…..was she wondering if snakey remains might be seen? 😉 Thank you for capturing this scene.
Haha, yes I think that is precisely what she was looking for. Or maybe to check and see if touching the snake hurt her. Either way, the snake ended up a-OK! My favorite part of this video is when she flings the snake toward me! It was pretty funny.