Rowan's Journal

There's a 3" tree frog perched on the outside of the kitchen window so I'm staring at pale froggie pulsing throat, nice round frog belly, little froggie asshole, underneath of frog legs and four little webbed feet. SO cute!

Smart frog, too, since he's having a nice dinner on the bugs who are attracted to the kitchen light.

Go froggie, go! The fewer mosquitoes the better! Just stay away ahead of Minko, not that I've ever seen him go after frogs; he's more of a pack-rat sort of cat.

There was one swimming happily in the pool last night too, I was able to nab him and dump him out before he ended up in the filter, dead and smelly. Yuck. That's one of the nice things about not using clorine, they can survive in there so long as the filter doesn't get them.

Makes for a nice ending to a somewhat difficult day, what with the big turtle saving in the middle of it.

I've lost a dear friend today. Just got the news from the very kind-hearted and thoughtful Nikki that Jimmy, the eldest chimp at the Kansas City Zoo, has died.



Here's the article from the KC Star:
KANSAS CITY, MO. -- KANSAS CITY ZOO (Press Release)- Jimmie, one of the Zoo's all-time favorite animals, died Wednesday morning, Aug. 27, at the Zoo. He was 41.

Keepers said Jimmie collapsed early Wednesday before going on exhibit. He was being treated for heart disease and was on daily medications.

Jimmie was wild caught in Liberia, and came to the Zoo in 1968. His age was estimated to be 41. He had lived at the Kansas City Zoo since 1968.

Many visitors came to know Jimmie because of his distinctive looks and friendly interaction. He had pink coloring around his mouth, and in recent years, his coat had been speckled with gray. He loved to hang out near the windows of the Chimpanzee Exhibit, and would interact with visitors on the other side of the glass.

Randy Wisthoff, Zoo director, said Jimmie will be greatly missed by all.

"The happiest day at the Zoo is when we have a birth, and the saddest is when we have a death, especially someone like Jimmie who has lived here so long," Wisthoff said.

Jimmie was the Alpha (dominant) male in the troop until six years ago, when Josh assumed the leader position. During his dominance, Jimmie fathered 19 children. Five still live at the Kansas City Zoo. They are Bondo, Lucy, Kioja, Amber, and Halla. In turn, Kioja is mother of COTU, who was born September 1, 2007.

Two female chimpanzees who arrived at the Zoo during the same era as Jimmie are part of the Zoo's troop. Patty and Blackie, both 44, came to the Zoo in the late 1960s.

There will be a memorial fund, the Jimmie Fund, established in celebration of Jimmie's long life and of all the joy he brought to Zoo visitors. Funds will go toward chimpanzee conservation. To donate, please call (816) 513-5706; or donate online at www.kansascityzoo.org.

Prior to Jimmie's death, the Kansas City Zoo had the largest troop of chimpanzees in the United States. Now, the Zoo and the Los Angeles Zoo both have troops of 15. Jane Goodall, famed chimpanzee expert, called the Kansas City Zoo exhibit "one of the finest chimpanzee exhibits in North America." The Zoo's Chimpanzee Exhibit was also rated the Number 1 chimpanzee exhibit in America this year in the "America's Best Zoos 2008" book.

The thing is, Jimmy was my friend. I worked at the Zoo as an interactor the summer of '03 and while I spend a good deal of my time in the Australian area (I still miss my 'roos!) I also spent some time in the African area, specifically in the Chimpanzee Classroom. The days that I spent there were great fun, watching the babies cavort and actually getting to see one of the females use a twig as a tool one day (gross what she did, but SO cool to observe tool-use!) I also spent time worrying and hoping that Josh would be Alpha male after Jimmy, watching Jimmy still protect the babies as much as he could because Bondo was such a bully.

You see, Jimmy liked redheads. (So does Wanto, the huge silverback Gorilla, but that's another story!) so I used to go sit on the stone ledge in front of the window to watch when I wasn't actively working. Jimmy would come to the other side of where I was sitting and keep me company. He'd drop his jaw in the chimp version of a grin and that warmed my heart every time.

The high point and absolutely unforgettable memory I have of him was the day that he first made direct contact with me, as much as he could through the glass, anyway. He was sitting there staring soulfully into my eyes and so I put my hand flat against the glass. He looked at it and then looked back at me and then purposefully placed his hand against mine on the other side of the glass, remaining that way for a good minute or two; amazing. There was sort of a hush in the room when the patrons noticed it and then some commotion or other sent everyone scurrying around out in the chimp yard.

That happened a couple more times during that summer; no one will ever convince me that he didn't know precisely who I was or that the affection exchanged between us wasn't real. He was an amazingly sweet, wise and dear old fella and I've missed him greatly. I KNEW I should've found time to go back to visit last summer, doggonit.

Good-bye, darlin' Jimmy...say hello to my other dear friends in the Summerlands, ok?