Celebrating PRECIOUS’s 34th birthday!
Born just after the winter solstice, at Project Chimps the winter holidays often feel like one big celebration for Precious! Today on December 23rd, we can’t wait to wish her a happy birthday!
Precious is part of the “golden girls” (aka the old lady gang) of Dorothy Jo and Tilly villa. This group includes Precious, highest ranking female Jurita, and Jamie. Precious is the youngest of the three and was the first in her group to go outdoors into Peachtree Habitat. She’s known for her quick temper and her habit of flicking her wrist when she’s annoyed.
As a dignified old lady, Precious isn’t willing to compromise on her time or energy. She’s frequently the first one at the hopper for meals and looks forward to her afternoon medicated peanut butter. If staff are running behind schedule, she isn’t afraid to express her annoyance at the delay.
Precious prefers peanuts and mixed nuts to other treats, which are often put inside puzzles for the chimps’ enrichment. Recently, care staff noticed her getting frustrated at one of the more difficult enrichment puzzles, which are firehose knots. These are cloth firehose tubes with peanuts inside, tied in a knot for the chimps to untangle.
However, in this instance Precious seemed to be growing frustrated with her puzzle. After trying unsuccessfully to undo the knot, Precious tried to loosen it by whacking the knot on the ground. Some chimps can loosen the knot this way, but when it wasn’t working quickly enough for her, she gave up. Staff now tie slightly looser knots for Precious to make sure she can get to the nuts before losing patience.
We’re so thrilled to be able to celebrate Precious’s 34th birthday here at Project Chimps! If you’d like to send her a birthday gift, please consider sending her some nuts from our Amazon Wishlist. Thank you so much for supporting her continued care!
Precious, we’re so glad to know you and to be able to celebrate with you at the sanctuary! Here’s hoping all your wishes come true!