Celebrating NYIA’s 19th birthday!
The first day of a new month is always a little exciting, but December 1st is extra special. Not only is it the first day of December, but it’s also Nyia’s birthday!
In the words of one of her caregivers, India, Nyia is “perfect, show-stopping, incredible, amazing,” and we completely agree! Nyia first came to Project Chimps in 2022, making this her third birthday at the sanctuary. Something you might notice about Nyia right away are her striking eyes, one of which is milky blue-white. Her eyes are different colors due to an injury she received as a baby, leaving her blind in one eye.
Nyia is well known for having very specific favorite item(s), which are her blue blankets. Although she has several, Nyia goes through rotations where she’ll use the same one for a long time. Even if caregivers put another one in for her, she continues to use the same very dirty, very loved current blanket. According to India, she finally left her blanket behind the other day, so care staff were able to wash it! She says it’ll take a few days for her to pick the clean blanket up again, but once she does, she’ll likely have it for at least a month.
When she first arrived, it could be challenging for caregivers to get her to eat certain foods consistently. However, with time and especially within the last year, they’ve found a system that works for her. She prefers most of her produce sliced and rolled up in a paper bag she can grab through the mesh. It’s not that simple, though — the bag cannot get soggy or rip! For the few produce items she doesn’t need to be in a paper bag (namely sweet potatoes and corn), they must fit perfectly through the mesh without getting stuck. Otherwise, she’ll send them back through the mesh with her fist!
Over the past year, Nyia has grown very close to Manetta and Muttie. Manetta and Nyia like to play “keep away” with her blanket, while Muttie enjoys watching Nyia eat her produce. Nyia has rituals she must perform on her food before eating it, including spinning her blanket over it, ripping apart nearby sunflower seed shells, punching each slice on the floor, and then thoroughly inspecting it. If Nyia is too slow with her rituals, Muttie will try to steal a bite or two from her.
Today on December 1st, we hope you’ll help us wish Nyia a happy 19th birthday! If you’d like to send her a birthday gift, please consider some sunflower seeds from our Amazon Wishlist. Whether you send a gift or make a donation in Nyia’s honor, thank you so much for supporting her care!
Happy birthday, Nyia! We hope you enjoy your freshly cleaned blanket for as long as you like!