This is the time of year when the “greenhouse” (the outdoor area converted to a solar oasis with lexan panels) really shines – literally and figuratively. Spring is really windy in Cle Elum and today was particularly blustery. But the greenhouse is completely protected from the wind. Since it was sunny, it was downright balmy in there. Perfect lounging weather.
Burrito, who once shunned the greenhouse, spent the entire day out there. Here he is getting every last morsel of food from an avocado peel:
Jody also relaxed outside in the greenhouse all day, enjoying the fresh straw:
I do believe that Jody’s favorite position is horizontal, she would totally love a mattress.
While reading about Burrito being out in the greenhouse all day I wondered if Young’s Hill will be accessible, all day long?
Candy, As long as the weather is warm enough and we’re not on the hill picking up, the chimps will have access to it all day. And on days like yesterday, when it’s windy, the chimps will still have the greenhouse as an option.
That’s fantastic Diana, again you’re leaving it to the chimps to make the decision. I’d never really thought about how stressful it must be for the chimps to be able to make up their own minds about what they want to do. After decades of having their lives dictated by others it must have been quite frightening to them when they first came to sanctuary. I hope, over the last three years, they’ve gotten a little more comfortable with the changes in their lives.
from what ive seen over the years ive seen chimps sit in the rain , enjoy the snow but i think they HATE wind ! candy thats a really good point , it must be so daunting to be first faced with all these choices
They were certainly shell-shocked when they arrived at the sanctuary and perhaps wary of new spaces (Burrito in particular), but we haven’t seen evidence that having more choices has caused the chimps stress. Our motto has always been the more choices that we can provide, the better, and the chimps have reacted positively to this.
Unfortunately, we humans still do control a lot of their decisions – when they can enter an area (if we are cleaning) , when and what they eat, etc. Forages are a good example of giving the chimpanzees choice. We scatter the food throughout an area, and they choose what food they go for first. Generally, they are more excited about this style of meal than directly serving, though it’s important to mix things up and serve some meals so we can monitor and control the quantity of food the chimps are getting.
After cleaning, when all areas are open to the chimps, everyone goes from one area to another as they choose and this has never seemed to cause stress for anyone. If they were turned loose in a forest and had to survive on their own, that would be too much and would be very stressful. We hope that we provide a good amount of routine so the chimps know what to expect day to day and incorporate choice into their lives as often as we can within that routine.
thank you for the very interesting info Diana , they are amazing , a human would take way longer ( if at all ) to adapt so well and embrace their new life and enjoy it to the full as our 7 do every day xxx