Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

Archives for December 2013

Cheers!

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Happy New Year’s Eve! We want to thank Jody Ubert for sponsoring today for the chimpanzees. Jody, you’ll be happy to know that we had a wonderful little New Year’s Eve party for the chimpanzees today, complete with party streamers and plastic champagne flutes with sparkling apple cider. The chimps loved them!

Today is also the last chance to donate before the end of the year. If you’re on our mailing list, you received this message in your inbox this morning, which includes a link to the Foxie Inspires Us video. Foxie and her friends are in a Holiday Pal competition, too, and I think it’d be really great to see all seven chimps with two full candy canes by the end of 2013. Check the progress here, and support your favorite pal before the ball drops at midnight tonight!

Here is Foxie enjoying some of the cider from today:

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Thank you to everyone who has made the last five and half years of sanctuary so wonderful for the Cle Elum Seven. Cheers to you and yours, and have a Happy New Year!

Sounds of Sanctuary

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Although it is true that chimpanzees are often much more quiet than one might assume based on experience with them in the media, chimpanzees can also be quite loud when expressing themselves, given the right circumstances. As a matter of fact, the daily routine of sanctuary life is accompanied by sounds that a caregiver comes to rely on.

When I arrive at the chimp house in the morning the chimpanzees are often still sleeping, or enjoying a quiet morning. Not soon after though, Burrito usually makes some noise in the front rooms. Perhaps he’s letting everyone know that the day is about to begin? At any rate, the morning for caregivers consists of breakfast making with the blender whirring in the kitchen and the sounds of a chimpanzee community getting ready for the day. Burrito’s way of greeting the day is certainly unmistakable.

Meal times usually involve food grunts, squeaks and, of course, some chewing. The rest of the day can run the gamut. When the mood takes them the chimpanzees will spend time grooming together, playing, or occasionally engaged in aggressive displays and each of these activities are often attended by distinct chimpanzee vocalizations. To get a feel for what I’m talking about check out today’s video and make sure to have your volume turned up and your listening ears on!

Sleepy Lips

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There’s usually not much obvious difference between Negra awake and Negra asleep. Even when she’s awake, she’s often lying in a nest with a blanket draped over her head. But you can always tell when Negra is ready to close her eyes because her lips start looking too heavy for her face.

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Happy Birthday, Tracy!

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The chimpanzees have been gifted with a day of sanctuary today sponsored by their friend, Tracy Headley! Today is Tracy’s birthday and she shared the following message: “I can not think of a better way to celebrate my birthday, than to celebrate Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.” Tracy, you do so much for the chimpanzees and we are touched by your generous gift to them on your own special day. We think you should celebrate Foxie-style by doing a few back flips, hanging upside down, and throwing in some pirouettes for the heck of it!

Thank you so much, Tracy, and we wish you the happiest of days!!

Foxie and Dora

Young at Heart

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Missy and Annie covered nearly every inch of Young’s Hill today during a spirited game of chase.

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After being chased across the field, Annie took to the climbing structure, and Missy followed.

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Another dash across the field.

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And then another climbing structure.

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Annie tried to get away to the shaky bridge but Missy got her by the foot.

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But then it all ended in classic Missy style as she crashed end-over-end onto the bridge…with a smile.

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Chow wadge

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In the wild, chimpanzees create a wadge when eating certain types of food. A wadge is simply a ball of food that is placed in the lower lip and sucked on. Wadging can be a way to extract juice and nutrients from foods that are too fibrous to swallow, or it can be a way to extract the flesh from fruits that have bitter or poisonous seeds. Chimps sometimes create a wadge when eating small bits of egg or meat by adding leaves and chewing everything together. Some think that this might just be a way to prolong the enjoyment of a scarce but highly valued food.

Whatever the ultimate reason may be, it’s clear that some foods are just meant to be wadged, and primate chow is high on that list. As Annie demonstrates here, you start but dumping the entire bag into your mouth and arranging them into your lower lip.

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Then, add water.

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Make sure you take out the wadge once and a while to check on its progress.

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Then, sit back and enjoy!

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Happy Birthday, Lori!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Lori Kiers! Today is Lori’s birthday and she shared that she could not think of a better gift for herself than providing this special day for the chimpanzees. Lori, what a lovely and generous thing to say and do! Thank you so much, and from all the chimpanzees and humans here at CSNW, we hope you have a truly wonderful day!!

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