Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Archives for October 2013

Jamie Chimpanzee’s Hallowbirthday 2013

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At Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest we take parties pretty seriously, and on this day, we have two occasions to celebrate: Halloween and Jamie’s 36th birthday. Consequently, we went a little wild with the festivities today.

The chimpanzees are lucky to have some really great friends, and today we want to thank three of them in particular for making the day so special. Supporter Jayne Roepke mailed us several boxes full of the most fun and creative enrichment for today’s party (and treated the chimps to some delicious and festive party food!); Lisa Stuverud sponsored today in Jamie’s honor; and volunteer caregiver Stephanie brought some more party decorations, food, and enrichment, including this hand-carved birthday/Halloween pumpkin:

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The pumpkin was the star of the show, as you’ll see in the video below. But first, some photos of the party this morning.

Negra with a gift bag:

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and with a chunk of the giant pumpkin:

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Jody enjoying some cran-pomegranate juice:

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and deconstructing one of the cute ghost pinatas that Jayne sent:

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Jody also loved the giant pumpkin:

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Foxie with the giant pumpkin (are you sensing a theme?):

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Burrito taking a brief break from foraging:

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Annie drinking some juice:

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And if you’re wondering about Jamie, the birthday girl, she thoroughly enjoyed the festivities. Here she is looking cool with a party straw:

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foraging for berries:

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inspecting some new presents:

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and treating herself to a “martini”:

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One of the highlights of the day was watching the chimps dig into the pumpkin. They all eventually had their turns at it, but Negra was the first to enjoy the spoils.

If you’re signed up to receive our e-newsletter, you know that we’re holding a competition to see which chimpanzee can get the most Chimpanzee Pals by the end of the year. Wish Jamie a happy 36th birthday by signing up to be her Pal today!

Happy Jamieween, everyone!

Thank you, Lisa!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Lisa Stuverud in honor of Jamie’s (honorary) 36th birthday! Lisa shared these lovely sentiments:

“This day is for my girl Jamie who has taught me and my wonderful husband so much about patience, hope, forgiveness, strength, resilience and survival, not to mention unconditional love!! Literally, the best things in my life I have learned from Jamie and of course everyone at CSNW that works for her 🙂 !! Happy Hallowbirthdayween Jamie !!! And many many more!!”

Lisa, thank you so much for making Jamie’s day extra special for her and all the chimpanzees! As preparations get under way, today’s “Hallow-birthday-ween” extravaganza has all of the primates here at CSNW pretty excited! Be sure to check back later today for all the party happenings!

Here is Jamie at a past party with her incredible birthday-ween pumpkin:

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Funny faces and beautiful faces

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I love how expressive chimpanzees are. In their emotions, gestures, movements, vocalizations and facial expressions they communicate exactly how they are feeling every moment with a complete lack of self consciousness or pretense. I am mesmerized when watching the chimpanzees and studying their individual characteristics (I just realized today that Jamie has adorable freckles in her ears!) And here are two amazing faces I never tire of looking at, whether funny or just plain beautiful.

Funny Foxie (while this looks a little fierce, she is actually yawning):

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Foxie just being her beautiful self.

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Funny Annie with a mouth full of water:

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Annie just being her beautiful self:

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Forest

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I love seeing the chimps on Young’s Hill with the forest as a backdrop. Though we can never return them to the wild, we can give them the next best thing. After living decades in the lab, I imagine it must feel pretty great to have open air, sunshine, and blue sky overhead. And the view isn’t too bad either.

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Paparazzi

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As the weather turns from summer’s heat to winter’s chill the chimpanzees are adjusting their habits accordingly. The panels for the greenhouse walls have all been returned and the chimpanzees are finding the most pleasant spots to spend their time. The windows in the catwalk of the playroom are, of course, a reliable favorite. Recently the top wooden platform of the climbing structure in the greenhouse appears to have developed into a popular (and, most likely, the warmest) hang out during the day. While cleaning in the playroom today I realized the catwalk afforded a vantage point of this coveted spot that is pretty well hidden from view otherwise.

Here are the chimpanzees enjoying the warmth of the greenhouse at their leisure.

Missy & Jody playing together:
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Jody catches me taking pictures:
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Missy & Negra playing AND catching me with the camera:
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Rainy Day

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It’s chilly, gray, and rainy in Cle Elum today, and the chimpanzees are cozying up in the warm playroom. (This doesn’t include Jamie, who is keeping volunteer caregiver Stephanie busy walking around and around Young’s Hill. When the boss beckons, you listen.) Negra would rather stay indoors on a day like this, and I don’t blame her.

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the walking club

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Unless this is your first time visiting the blog (if so, welcome!!), you probably know about Jamie’s obsession with walking around the perimeter of Young’s Hill while one or more of her human caregivers walks around the outside of the perimeter while wearing a cowboy boot.

She has been doing this multiple times a day with all of her caregivers since the spring. While Jamie is quite demanding about taking these walks 4-7 times a days, it’s admittedly not a dreaded task for us humans. It’s hard to describe how great it feels to not only be making Jamie happy, which is pretty much a CSNW caregiver’s definition of a successful day, but it’s also just a very peaceful way to spend 15 or so minutes. It’s particularly great right now because the weather has been amazing this October, and the hill and the surrounding property is beautiful, even awe-inspiring at certain times of the day.

We actually dreamed of doing these perimeter walks before Young’s Hill was a reality. When it was in the design phase, we wondered if the chimps might patrol the perimeter of the hill, similar to the way chimpanzees in the wild go on patrol to check the boundaries of their territory. So when Jamie started doing this, it felt right.

While spending time with the chimpanzees one-on-one, like walking with Jamie while the other chimps do their own thing, is personally fulfilling, what’s 100 times more rewarding is observing the chimpanzees with each other and seeing their bonds strengthen and their friendships expand.

Which is why we’ve been thrilled that other chimpanzees have been joining Jamie on her walks lately. J.B. captured some clips on his phone and put together the video below.

Maybe, just maybe, one day the chimpanzees will go off on their own with each other to walk the perimeter of the hill, leaving us humans behind.

 

Burrito and Jamie on the hill