Posts by J.B.
What is it like to be a chimpanzee?
Can we ever know what it’s like to experience the world the way a chimpanzee does? A good starting point would be to assume that their subjective experience is much like our own. After all, our two species diverged a mere 7 million years ago – the blink of an eye in evolutionary terms. It’s…
Read MoreTo Be Continued
I have good news and bad new about the Bray. The good news is that it is about 95% complete. The bad news is that winter came early this year and the remaining 5% will be difficult if not impossible to finish in freezing weather. It’s also a less-than-ideal time to introduce the newest group…
Read MoreKeeping Up With Burrito
Here’s a small sampling of what Burrito was up to this morning. Where does he get all this energy?
Read MoreVideo: The Chimps are Back on the Hill
As you may have seen in yesterday’s blog post, the Seven are back on the hill! Here’s the video, as promised. In case it’s not clear, we had to take down the original fence so that we could expand the overall habitat area and split it into two enclosures. The Young’s Hill side, which belongs…
Read MoreIn Memory of Dr. B
The world lost an incredible human being recently. Jocelyn Bezner, VMD, was a friend and a mentor to the staff of CSNW and played a vital role in the chimps’ care over the years. She regularly consulted with Dr. Erin on diagnoses and courses of treatment, even joining in on surgeries over FaceTime. She was…
Read MoreHappy Birthday, Meredith!
Meredith turns 7 years old today! Many thanks to both Paulette and to Tobin for sponsoring this day in her honor. Our post office has been out of commission for the last week, but we got Tobin’s letter for Meredith just in time. Here is Tobin’s personal message to the birthday bovine: Dear Meredith, I…
Read MoreRedecorating
As Chad mentioned the other day, we’re in the final stretch of building the new open-top outdoor enclosures. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but the time had finally come to start tearing down the original fences so that we could install the last stretch of four fences that will separate the…
Read MorePhotos o’ the Day
Negra, enjoying the morning sun: Foxie and one of her many legless dolls: Burrito, exhibiting his “come and chase me outside” look: Foxie and her salt-and-pepper arm hair: Jamie, scanning the hill for leftover forage: Jody, pant-hooting and pant-grunting upon Burrito’s entry into the greenhouse:
Read MoreSupervisors
Many people have asked how the chimps cope with all of the construction going on around their home. Let’s take a look!
Read MoreGrooming with Missy and Annie
Find someone that looks at you the way Annie looks at Missy. But make sure you have separate hobbies or something like that because, to be honest, Annie can be a bit clingy at times. Seriously, Annie is a completely different person than she was when she first arrived over 14 years ago. She’s far…
Read MoreMission: Impossible
Sometimes the forages on Young’s Hill contain a few extra special treats – something even better than the oranges and primate chow you are currently enjoying. If you, like Missy here, are lucky enough spot such a treat – a coconut, for example – your work has only begun. Because retrieving the prize may require…
Read MoreGrooming with Honey B
Since she was integrated into a larger group, Honey B has been making new friends, reuniting with old ones, and spending time with her half-sisters. Here she grooms with half sister, Rayne, and her old friend, Terry. Or rather, here she is being groomed. Honey B doesn’t do much grooming herself. Without knowing more you…
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