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This is awesome and adorable. What else can I say?
Serious play, a sock was involved!
Now that was funny!! Sock, Butt Bites et all!!!
So cute!
This may have been asked before, I apologize for the potential duplicate question: it looks like Annie’s forearms are losing hair? Is that just the light of the video? Is she ok?
Hi Jordan! Short answer: Yes, Annie’s fine. 🙂
Long answer: Captive chimpanzees often exhibit abnormal behaviors – called stereotypies or stereotypic behaviors – that result from the stress and boredom of captivity. There’s a wide range of these behaviors, from relatively mild (rocking) to severe (self-mutilation). Generally, the more stressful an environment a chimp is in, the higher the incidence and severity of these behaviors. If a chimp’s environment improves – if they move from a research lab to a sanctuary, for example – there will often be an accompanying decrease in stereotypic behaviors, but they don’t always disappear entirely.
We don’t see any severe stereotypies in the Cle Elum Seven, but we do see some mild ones, such as overgrooming. If you notice a thinning of hair in certain places on certain chimps’ bodies, that’s likely the cause.