PLAYING WITH ANNIE!!

(Yes, the caps lock is actually needed and appropriate for the first time in my entire life.) 

Monday in the chimp house was a warm welcome from Jamie chimpanzee. Immediately when I got there, she was so excited and wanted to come down and say good morning and check out my shoes. A very nice change from last Monday when I was running out of doors to avoid poop. 

Jamie was having a mellow day, which provided the perfect opportunity to interact with some other chimps. Most of the day Jamie was in the playroom when others were in the greenhouse, giving ample space between us to play! Jamie and I did our walk around the hill and some boot grooming as usual, and when she was done she went inside, I got some things in the chimp house done and then I grabbed the giant green toothbrush that Burrito and I have been playing with a lot lately. 

I quietly walked past Jamie, careful not to disturb her or draw to much attention to the fact that I was on the way to interact with other chimps, and made my way to the greenhouse. There I found Big B, and we played some chase for about 10 minutes.  Chase with B usually involves running around the outside of the greenhouse. In the late fall/winter/early spring the greenhouse has sheets of hard plastic up to keep it insulated and you have to bang on them when playing chase, its a must. If you were watching me play chase from a ways away, it would look like me banging on the walls, chimp laughing and running back and forth like I have no idea where I'm going. B wasn't really into any grooming games, he just wanted to play some chase. After he took the toothbrush and ran out onto the hill, I went inside the greenhouse to see who else was inside. (Also to check if Jamie was on her way out to tell us to stop playing.)

Missy and Jody were on the very top of the platform just relaxing, and Annie was on the bottom platform, just hanging out. If you've been following this blog long, you know that Annie and I have a secret friendship. She will say hi and interact with me briefly, usually in the morning and when no other chimp or human is around. Needless to say, I was so excited/confused/happy when Annie and I had 10 minutes of play on Monday with other chimps around! 

I said hi to Annie, and sat down on the ground in the human area of the greenhouse. I didn't ask Annie to come over, I just sat down to be an observer. Sometimes the best times are when the chimps don't know I'm there. I get to see how they groom one another, who sleeps in what position, etc. After a few seconds of sitting, Annie grabbed the rope nearby, and flew over to me. She grabbed a nearby plastic hose tool and began to groom me. All I could say was "woah Annie!"I was so taken back by her initiating the play and her doing the grooming. She was using the tool to try and get into my boot, so I took my boot off, then my sock and she was pumped! Annie apparently has a thing for naked human feet, something the staff is just learning about, and she loves to investigate a good foot! She groomed my foot for a few minutes and then we started a weird new game I will call "pass the tube." Annie let me grab the other end of the tube and pull it completely to my side of the caging. She then put her hand up on another spot on the caging where I passed her the tube. She took the whole thing on her side of the caging and put it through another spot. This continued for a good 10 minutes! IT WAS AMAZING. 

During this interaction, Annie was hyper aware of surrounding chimps. She made eye contact multiple times with Missy, who was fine with us playing. She checked doors X and 4 multiple times in case an angry Jamie was on her way. Annie is not a big tool user either, probably why she was extra aware of Jamie being around. In the past, if a chimp is using the plastic hose tool in front of her, Jamie gets a little upset and will storm over and take it away. Due to the fact that Annie is not a tool user on a frequent basis, she was a little awkward with the plastic tube. Unsure of where to grab it, not quite confident in how to groom me, etc. At one point she just blew air into my face by blowing into her end of the tube. It was a free-for-all of "how the fuck do I use this??!?" 

It dawned on me on the way home that Annie is 40 years old (41 this September) and is just now learning how to manipulate a tool like a long plastic hose. Just now of course meaning, since she arrived at sanctuary in 2008. Chimpanzees are highly intelligent, that much has been proven over years of observation; tool use, language use, etc. I would argue that in some cases, chimpanzees are vastly smarter than me. Watching Jamie problem solve with tools or objects in the chimp house sometimes blows my mind. She's so fast and smart and knows just what to do to reach her end goal, and some projects that she finishes in a matter of minutes I couldn't do in an hour. Annie bumbling around with the tool at 40 years old... can you imagine for a minute that you are 40 years old and you have never, lets say, drank milk from a glass? You have no concept of holding a glass in your hand, the speed of pouring a liquid into your mouth, etc. The first few times you do it it's probably a disaster. Now imagine that all your other 40 year old friends have been doing this forever. I don't think Annie is quite that frustrated, but I'm sure at times watching Jamie maneuver a tool with such ease is a little intimidating. I'm so proud of all the things Annie is trying and accomplish and achieving, and I can't wait to see the things she does in the future. I truly wish her youth had been spent in the jungle with her family learning how to use tools, but we can't go back. We can only improve situations for chimps to come. 

Lars and I have made some big decisions for our future (NO WE ARE NOT PREGNANT CALM DOWN) that we will announce later. But I am so excited for what we are about to embark on. 

4 months to the day until #jorgensenwedding2015. I genuinely cannot believe how fast time moves. Raleigh is about to turn 3. Butters will be 4 in July. Lars will be 26. I'll be 24! (Not 25, even though I firmly believed I would be 25 the day before my wedding for months before Lars corrected my math.) Now more than ever I'm feeling especially aware of people around me and spending time with those I care about. Something I think we only do in situations of great tragedy or need. Not to say that's a bad thing, that's when you do really need people around you; but trying to be more aware of that on a daily basis can't be a bad. :)

More next week.
B