Celebrating NOEL’s 18th birthday!
It’s December 6th, which means that today Noel is turning 18 years old! As we celebrate her 18th trip around the sun here at Project Chimps, we’re excited to share more about her in this birthday blog!
Noel came to Project Chimps in December of 2017, just one week after her 11th birthday. She lives in Harmony villa in alpha Kareem’s group, where she is one of the higher-ranking young female chimps. When she first arrived, she looked very different as she did not have a lot of her hair. Her caregivers say she would pluck her hair as a stress behavior, similar to people with trichotillomania. Now, we’re happy to report she’s regrown a lot of her hair and looks like a completely new chimp!
Noel is very intelligent and a quick learner. She’s usually first at the hopper for mealtimes, so her caregivers always have her bag of chow ready to go. She’s also extremely playful and loves it when her caregivers dress up in costumes! Noel loves greeting care staff members who come into the villa, especially when she hasn’t seen them in a while. When someone enters, Noel laughs and nods her head until they can’t help but nod and laugh back with her.
Noel is one of the chimps trained to receive and trade items for caregivers. This is a safety precaution to prepare in case the chimps ever get ahold of something they shouldn’t have. If that were to happen, Noel would be able to retrieve and give it safely to caregivers through the mesh.
Today on December 6th, we hope you’ll help wish Noel a happy 18th birthday! If you’d like to send her a gift, she’d love a new toy from our Amazon Wishlist! Whether you send a gift or make a donation in her honor, thank you so much for supporting her care!
Noel is also one of the featured chimps you can sponsor monthly or annually here at Project Chimps! By becoming a sponsor, you can support her continued care and hear all about her recent adventures in sanctuary.
Happy 18th birthday, Noel! Seeing you blossom in sanctuary has been a true joy, and we’re so happy to see you thrive. We can’t wait to see what’s next for you here at Project Chimps!