As promised, here are photos and video of today’s party. The chimps enjoyed a forage of leeks, red bananas, broccolini, sweet peppers, lettuce, and corn. We also put out cups of warm herbal tea with almond milk, party hats filled with peanuts, and pinatas stuffed with grapes, as well as a fresh bale of alfalfa (a nest you can eat!).
We’re big on recycling around here, so for today we re-purposed the Christmas tree as a “Birthday tree.” Annie and Burrito took turns picking treats from its branches:
Negra went straight for the corn, while Missy hunted for red bananas:
Foxie guzzled all the tea she could find:
Somehow, Missy got to the party hat pinata first, so all Jamie could do was scrounge for leftovers. Don’t feel sorry for her, though – she ate almost everything else:
Watch the video:
It’s fitting that the chimps enjoyed a forage in the greenhouse today, and that Jamie walked around the hill to her heart’s content. Both the greenhouse and Young’s Hill were made possible in large part by Karen and Don Young.
So Don, thank you (and Karen) for caring so much about these seven chimps. We hope you enjoyed your birthday – the chimps certainly did!
I always love the daily posts. I find the chimpanzees so enchanting. But with todays post, I actually felt like I was in attendance at the party. And what a party it was. Thank you for this experience. Happy birthday, Don. Thank you Don and Karen for giving us the experience of a lifetime.
Happy birthday Don! You and Karen are heros at CSNW. Just to see the chimps have a forage in the Greenhouse and seeing jamie walk around Young’s Hill or Missy walking the tight rope brings you both to mind and a broad smile to our faces. You bring joy, safety and love to our Cle Elum Seven every day. There is no way to thank you enough but THANK YOU anyway. You are essential to the lives of our chimps and our humans.
Happy Birthday, Don. Many thanks to you and Karen for the love and support you have given the Seven.
What a beautiful celebration in your honor!