Posts by Elizabeth
8th Annual Love a Chimpanzee Day
We love made-up holidays around here (holiday = party for the chimps). For the last 8 years, the chimps’ good friend Monica Best has sponsored April 23rd as Love a Chimpanzee Day. (It also happens to be Monica’s birthday!) Unless you’ve followed our blog for awhile, you probably haven’t heard of Love a Chimpanzee Day;…
Read MoreYou Can’t Please Everyone
Burrito is more popular in some circles than in others. As a rule, humans adore him while his chimp family merely tolerates him. On a daily basis, Burrito terrorizes the six female chimps he lives with by charging through the chimp house in loud and intimidating dominance displays. Burrito’s just doing what male chimps do,…
Read MoreCase Files, Part 3
Part 1 Part 2 Name: Missy Nicknames: Miss, Dr. Missy, Lil’ Bigfoot Age: 41 Birthday: August 23rd Role: The Deputy Personality: loyal, energetic, thrill-seeking What She Would Save in a Fire: the garden tomatoes Likes: daredevil acrobatics, tending to her friends’ wounds, social cohesion Dislikes: having her photo taken, green peppers, sitting still Name: Annie…
Read MoreCase Files, Part 2
Part 1 here. Name: Jody Nicknames: Jo, JoJo Age: 41 Birthday: Mother’s Day Role: The Mom/The Manager Personality: independent, earnest, caring What She Would Save in a Fire: her chimp family Likes: comfort, warm greetings, wild plants Dislikes: tomato seeds, dinosaur and snake toys, disorder Name: Negra Nicknames: Neg, Neggie Age: 43 Birthday: June 13th…
Read MoreCase Files
Name: Jamie Nicknames: James, Boss Lady Age: 39 Birthday: October 31st Role: The Boss Personality: intense, smart, watchful What She Would Save in a Fire: her cowboy boot collection Likes: law and order, long walks, pears Dislikes: disobedience, boredom, unpredictability Name: Foxie Nicknames: Fox, Tiny Age: 41 Birthday: August 8th Role: The Peacekeeper Personality: cautious,…
Read MoreNegra Gets Some Air
Negra is the oldest chimpanzee here at the sanctuary, and while only a year or two older than some of the others, there is no doubt that Negra is the grandma of the family. She has a sizable belly, she’s a little bowlegged, she moves at a snail’s pace, and she has no patience for…
Read MoreA Queen’s Eye View
This morning Negra chose a window seat in which to enjoy her sweet, crunchy apple. From this vantage point she can look out over the driveway to see who might be coming and going, and she can keep an eye on the caregiver house on the property.
Read MoreTo Each Her Own
One of the most important things we offer to the chimpanzees here at the sanctuary is the freedom of choice. We provide the ingredients for a happy, healthy life, and the chimps take what they want and leave what they don’t. Blankets are one of those ingredients. We put out so many blankets each day…
Read MoreA Quiet Moment With…
The Gift That Keeps On Giving
It’s hard to predict how the chimpanzees will interact with the enrichment we offer each day. For Jamie, the absolute highlight of this week has been the new sand table featured in Tuesday’s blog post. Jamie continues to be thoroughly captivated by it. Yesterday we added some buckets of soapy water to the mix.
Read MoreThe Boss
Most of the chimpanzees here at the sanctuary are pretty “low-maintenance”. Give Foxie some dolls and she can entertain herself for hours. Jody’s thrilled with a huge pile of blankets. All Negra wants is some peace and quiet and a patch of sun. But Jamie is not easy to please. It would be fair to…
Read MoreA Little Light Reading
This morning Jamie spent about 30 minutes intensely focused on this Sunset Magazine.
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