From chimps celebrating birthdays with troll dolls to penguins finding comfort in plush toys, this article explores the emotional attachments animals form with inanimate objects, highlighting the unique bonds and care provided by sanctuaries and aquariums.
by MINA ALLEN | The National News DeskIn this photo taken Aug. 8, 2016, Foxie, a chimp who lives at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest near Cle Elum, Wash., holds a troll doll given to her as a present during a party for her 40th birthday.
Sanctuaries across the country are preparing for an influx of retired private lab chimpanzees, now that the federal government has stopped backing experiments on humankind's closest relatives. Punch the Monkey quickly grabbed the hearts of millions around the world. As more photos and videos of the monkey holding onto a stuffed orangutan plushie, struggling to make friends within his social group, were uploaded online, people quickly became invested in the small monkey with his plushie friend. However, Punch is not the only animal that has formed a strong emotional bond with an object; here are some other animals that have developed strong attachments to objects ranging from dolls to tires.When Henry first hatched, his first interaction with anyone or anything was with Tom, a stuffed penguin plushie from the gift shop at Sea Life Waymouth, Britain. Henry was born on Jan. 30 and needs about 45 days to grow and become waterproof before he is released into the enclosure with other fairy penguins. The little penguin began life cuddling with the soft plushie that was barely the size of an iPhone; since then, Henry has outgrown the penguin and now has a larger toy from the aquarium gift shop. Henry's parents, Dandy and Tyrion, are uninterested in incubating their eggs, according to Charlotte Edge, an aquarist at Sea Life Weymouth. While aquarium staff members take turns looking after Henry, his parents are practicing to incubate fake eggs.Even when Henry is eventually moved to the enclosure with over three dozen other fairy penguins like him, the aquarium staff said they won't retire his toys.Kaikai, a nine-month-old African elephant living in the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya, has her favorite tire to play with. Many elephants prefer to play with tires, but Kaikai has a much stronger attachment to the rubber tire than the typical elephant. She enjoys not only rolling and flipping the tire over to play, but also using it as a pillow to sleep. Kaikai was found in a Kenyan conservancy in May, beside the body of an adult lactating elephant. She was flown to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a Kenya Wildlife conservation organization and elephant rescue, where Kaikai lives now. “To see her so joyful and outgoing, and finding toys and entertaining herself, shows us that she’s a really healthy elephant and a really happy elephant,” Sheldrick Wildlife Trust spokeswoman Sean Michael said. “Her survival wasn’t a given, so that’s extremely rewarding for us.”In this photo taken Aug. 8, 2016, Foxie, a chimp who lives at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest near Cle Elum, Wash., holds a troll doll given to her as a present during a party for her 40th birthday. Sanctuaries across the country are preparing for an influx of retired private lab chimpanzees, now that the federal government has stopped backing experiments on humankind's closest relatives. Foxie, a 49-year-old chimpanzee at the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in Cle Elum, Washington, has an emotional support troll doll with bright pink hair. Foxie, who has rejected all other toys in the past, immediately became attached to the troll doll. According to Diana Goodrich, the co-director of the sanctuary, Foxie kissed and snuggled with the troll doll. Since being gifted the troll doll in 2008, Foxie has expanded her toy collection, which has hundreds of dolls. Some include Strawberry Shortcake and Disney princesses. Before she arrived at the sanctuary, Foxie was used in hepatitis vaccine research and as a breeder for biomedical research. Foxie had four children taken away from her when she was young: Steve and David, twins who died in labs, and Angie and Kelsey, who have been moved to sanctuaries. Goodrich says that Foxie probably feels maternal over the dolls, “it really is a security — a way for her to feel secure."Lizzy, a Chimpanzee located in a Georgia chimpanzee sanctuary, only has eyes for one of her many toys: a small Grinch doll. Lizzy carries the Grinch everywhere she goes, including when roaming the woods or sleeping with dozens of other chimpanzees. Staff members at the sanctuary, Project Chimps, will stitch together the dolls' floppy arms and legs that loosen and start to fray as other chimpanzees try to steal the toys. As the doll starts to lose limbs, staff members order new ones online to replace them. Lizzy has reportedly gone through at least a dozen dolls and yet is very attached to a specific Grinch doll about 14 inches tall. Lizzy grooms the doll and includes it in giant nests she builds with other objects, such as blankets and other toys.Briar, a two-year-old mountain lion, was found abandoned in El Dorado County, California, in August 2024. Mountain lions typically stay with their mothers for the first year or two of their lives. Wildlife officials searched for Briar's mother, but couldn't locate her after searches in the area over a couple of days. The cub was sent to Oakland Zoo, where he received treatment at the zoo's veterinary hospital. While receiving care, Briar was given a stuffed dog to play with and cuddle. Briar played with the dog for a few weeks before being moved into the mountain lion habitat.Now Briar lives and plays with two other mountain lions, Coloma and Silverado. The lions all groom and play with one another.Following a weeks-long trial, Kouri Richins was found guilty of murdering her husband, Eric Richins.The 35-year-old Utah mother of three was accused of poisoninClosing arguments in the murder trial against Kouri Richins began on Monday morning after nearly three weeks of witness testimony.A former Utah Highway Patrol trooper is facing criminal charges in Box Elder County after investigators say he showed pornography to a teenage boy and exposed hThe 13-year-old boy who was run over by a box truck in Summit County has undergone multiple surgeries after suffering injuries to his face, and possibly his legAn unsealed search warrant revealed new information related to Kouri Richins’ mom, Lisa Darden, which suggested that she could have played a part in planning an
Animal Behavior Chimpanzees Penguins Emotional Bonds Sanctuaries
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