Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Archives for March 2014

St. Patrick’s Day Party – in brief verse

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There were seven chimps of Cle Elum
Who were ready for breakfasts of melon.
The party was set
In the greenhouse the fete.
At foraging they were excelling!

And, yes, I apologize in advance for my less then ideal rhymes, it’s very difficult to come up with words that rhyme with Cle Elum. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all!!

Annie forages for nuts in a sock:
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Foxie forages for strawberries on the wooden platform:
(Jody’s drinking from a tiny cup in the background.)
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Jamie takes up two chairs while she forages for treats:
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Negra forages for chow with the bamboo behind her:
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Missy forages for treats from the party bags:
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Jody forages for fruit on the platform in the greenhouse:
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Burrito also forages, but for chow, on the platform:
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Jamie
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Missy
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Negra
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Jody
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Foxie
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Burrito
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Annie
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Scale

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We tend to use the zoom lens when taking photos of the chimpanzees on Young’s Hill. This allows for a close-up view of the chimps, but doesn’t give much of a sense of what it’s like to see the chimps on two acres of land. Some of my favorite photos are those in which the chimps are just specks on the larger landscape.

Foxie and Missy:

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Jamie, Missy, and Jody:

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Jamie:

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Negra:

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Missy and Foxie:

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Jamie:

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The Importance of Foraging

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With all apologies to our east coast friends, the weather here is gorgeous! Perfect for a lunch forage on the hill today.

Volunteer Lynn decided to fancy things up by making sweet potato stuffed bell peppers, which she, Patti, and Amanda spread on the hill, along with beets and chow for the chimpanzees to find.

Before I forget – today is the last day to purchase Jody label wine from Northwest Cellars, so you should get on that now.

After making your wine purchase, enjoy the photo series below: portraits with mouths full

Though this is a fairly lighthearted photo series, foraging is serious business for chimpanzees. It’s their main job in the wild, making it pretty hard-wired, so searching for food is mentally stimulating and very enjoyable to chimpanzees in captivity.

There was one recent behavioral research study of chimpanzees in the wild that showed chimpanzees use long-term memory (as opposed to merely visual or olfactory cues) to find trees with the largest amount of fruit across fruiting seasons.

I posted a couple of additional photos from today’s forage on Jody’s and Burrito’s respective Facebook pages that illustrate how the Cle Elum Seven also use their long-term memory to check for the spots on the hill where they have previously found food. We humans are a predictable species and the chimps probably have us completely figured out.

In any case, here are a few photos of some of the chimpanzees enjoying the “fruits” of their foraging labor:

Missy:

Missy eating sweet potato

 

Jamie:

Jamie eating sweet potato

 

Jody:

Jody eat while walking

Jody eat while standing

 

I bet you can guess who:

Foxie with troll doll in mouth

The Queen Gets Some Fresh Air

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Most of the chimpanzees think being outside on Young’s Hill is worth tolerating some less than ideal weather conditions. Jamie even went for a perimeter walk in the rain recently.

But Negra has her standards. If the weather is less than perfect in any way, she wants no part of the outdoors. Luckily, today is beautiful and Negra was happy to participate in the lunch forage on Young’s Hill.

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Spring and Missy have sprung

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The chimpanzees (and humans) are continuing to enjoy the arrival of warmer spring days and many forages on Young’s Hill. Missy, never one to miss an adventurous moment, has been warming up her fire hose tightrope walking skills:

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I particularly love her great form in this photo:

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During one of the forages, Missy spotted a piece of corn on the cob which had gone unnoticed. Corn on the cob is a highly prized favorite among the chimpanzees and you can see her casually looking around to make sure it’s OK for her to take it, before scooping it up:

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Here she is enjoying some of her spoils as she relaxes in the sun:

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It was warm enough yesterday that we were even able to open the barn doors at the end of the playroom. When these doors are open, the chimps have a view of part of their garden and it’s a great spot to sit in the afternoon sun. Most of the chimps get pretty excited when the doors are open, but Missy in particular loves it! She asks us to open them all winter long, as if she hopes it might be spring out that side of the building, and it’s always hard to tell her we have to wait for warmer weather. Needless to say, between forages, tightrope walking, an open air playroom, and countless adventures, Missy seems pretty thrilled that spring has sprung at the sanctuary.

Play, play, play

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Annie and Missy are quite well-known for their excited games of chase and wrestling throughout the chimp house. Negra, however, isn’t always the most likely play partner—and when she does play, she’s got her own speed (kinda slow). This time Negra was keeping up with the experts!

This video is a little longer than some of our others but I thought you wouldn’t want to miss a second of this fun play session. Thanks again to Patty W. for sponsoring today for us and for being Negra’s Pal!

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