Time on the hill
August 22, 2014 by J.B. -
The chimps are enjoying their forages on Young’s Hill so much more now that it’s cooled down a bit.
This morning, Annie was searching high and low for something in particular. Turns out it was the primate chow she was after.
Jamie almost always smells her food before putting it her mouth. A chimpanzee’s sense of smell is not much different than our own, so this is more of a personality quirk of Jamie’s than a species-typical behavior. We jokingly say that she must think we’re trying to poison her, because she always looks so suspicious when she does it.
When Burrito is in a fight, he demonstrates an unbelievable combination of speed and athleticism. He can jump from the second story of the playroom down to the first, land on the concrete floor, and then take off running without skipping a beat. He’ll leap across the greenhouse and catch himself with one hand. But for some reason, when he’s not fighting he’s capable of tripping over his own feet.
Last night we had the pleasure of hanging out with Jamie past sunset. Most of the chimps voluntarily go to bed around 5:30, just after we serve dinner. This is just as true in the winter when the sun goes down at 4:30 as it is in the summer when it stays light until 10:00. As soon as they finish their after dinner food puzzles, they start collecting blankets to make their nests around the playroom. But summer nights in Cle Elum are beautiful, and Jamie sometimes wants her caregivers to stay out with her for a few extra walks. This was the last of Jamie’s four after dinner walks around the hill, just before 8:00. When she decided she was done for the day, she gathered her cowboy boots and a pile of blankets and headed for the playroom.
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a girl after my own heart… catch all that light before winter sets in.
Maybe Jamie smells her food because even the scent is delicious to her. After all those years in a small biomedical cage with nothing, how could she not want to savor every little thing and experience all of her senses. Jamie looks strong and beautiful against the setting the sun!
And the juxtaposition of the 2 Burritos made me laugh!
I love that Jamie sniffs her food. Our dog does the same thing. He has to sniff his treat kong before he will take it from my husband or myself. We, too, joke that he thinks we may poison him with it someday.
Because of the chimp ID series you did a few months ago, I’m getting good at spotting which chimps are who. Because JB is such a talented writer, it only takes a few sentences to know he wrote a particular blog. And I think Jamie sniffs her food as a form of control?? As in, it’s up to HER if she’s going to eat it, and she won’t until she’s fully decided in her own way.
I suspect the food smelling may result from a lab experience…perhaps drugging her by adding to a food. Or she’s checking for spoiled food? At any rate, no one is likely to pull the wool over her eyes!