Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for January 2015

Let it Snow (just this one time, then we’re ready for spring)

by

We haven’t really had much snow here in Central Washington this winter. This is sort of a mixed blessing for the chimps. On the one hand, the lack of snow allows them to spend more time outside during the winter, which is great. But on the other hand, snow to a chimpanzee is like an endless supply of food falling magically from the sky. And who wouldn’t want that?

web_Jamie_lick_snowcone_PR_dm_IMG_2581

Today we had the best of both worlds. We woke up to some fresh snow, which kept the chimps thoroughly enriched all morning. By afternoon, the snow was gone, and the chimps were back on the hill getting their exercise.

So that was fun. Now we’re ready for spring.

Peace and Quiet

by

Negra’s days are made up of quiet moments. She’s usually the last one out of bed in the morning, and the first to go back to bed after breakfast. She spends most of her day lying in a big, soft nest in front of her favorite window on the playroom catwalk, where she can watch the neighboring farm and the train running through the valley. When there’s a conflict in the group, Negra does her best to stay out of it, and she’s usually the one to end it with her “That’s enough!” pant hoot.

To Negra, sanctuary means peace and quiet.

web_Negra_look_out_window_PR_ek_IMG_2470

web_Negra_look_out_window_chin_on_arm_PR_ek_IMG_2479

web_Negra_PR_ek_IMG_2477

web_Negra_look_at_camera_PR_ek_IMG_2483

It’s a day in honor of Peggy Fujimura

by

I love this story so much – as a Christmas gift, Peggy Fujimura gave supporter Erin Yuhas $100 to donate to a chimpanzee charity of her choice. So, Erin decided to donate the money to the Cle Elum Seven and sponsor a day in honor of Peggy! It’s like a gift that goes back and forth AND benefits chimpanzees – how great is that?!

This is the lovely message that Erin shared when she made the sponsor-a-day donation, “Peggy, too, is an animal lover and is appreciative of all the work that goes in to caring for our furry friends. I can’t thank her enough and thought that this was the best way to honor her generosity. Thanks for all you do for these chimpanzees and thanks for the great blogs and pictures. Keep up the good work and I someday hope to visit!”

Thanks to you both, Erin and Peggy – Jamie hopes you can visit someday too!

Jamie walking on the hill

Bridge construction

by

In our 2014 year-end letter, Diana mentioned that Jamie had taken it upon herself to begin demolition on the bridge in the playroom between the loft and the catwalk. Though we ordered materials for a more long-lasting bridge right away, there was a hang up with the shipping and we finally got the materials just last week! JB began the new bridge construction today:

web_jb_construction_bridge_pr_IMG_2396

web_jb_construction_bridge_pr_IMG_2418

web_jb_construction_bridge_pr_IMG_2427

web_jb_construction_bridge_pr_IMG_2430

This project proved to be pretty enriching—the chimps have been watching JB’s work from the front rooms:

Jamie:
web_jamie_watch_construction_fr_dm_IMG_2402

Jamie and Foxie:
web_jamie_foxie_watch_construction_fr_dm_IMG_2405

Jody:
web_jody_watch_construction_fr_dm_IMG_2416

Elizabeth and I helped JB figure out just how to get the panels up to the second floor (it was more challenging than it seemed at first!) and we managed to get half of the bridge done today. The chimps were super curious about the new set-up, and spent some time inspecting. Missy displayed a little bit on top of it, stomping and testing the sturdiness. I think it passed her test!

web_missy_stand_on_new_bridge_pr_ek_IMG_2435

Soon, the bridge will be complete! Here’s what we have to look forward to (Jamie taking a nap on the old bridge, before she tore it apart)
web_Jamie_sleep_bridge_pr_dg_IMG_1014

A day for Adrienne DiCerbo. A day for food.

by

Today was sponsored by Eric Beckley in honor of Adrienne DiCerbo’s birthday. Here is the delightful message from Eric,

“Burrito wants to wish his fellow Capricorn Adrienne DiCerbo a happy birthday and hopes that her birthday, like his, is filled with food, food, and more food”.

 

With that in mind, here’s a really old video (July 2008), that was the first time we heard Burrito’s completely unreal food enjoyment noises. You can hear the other chimps in the background food grunting, more or less “normally,” but Burrito’s squeaking noises are pretty unique to him.

Burrito’s obvious love of food is certainly one of the most charming aspects of his personality.

Adrienne, you choice for today may not be an entire head of lettuce, but we join Eric is wishing you for a day filled with the food you love the most – Happy Birthday!

Burrito with lettuce

Jamie’s mood

by

Just like all emotional beings, Jamie’s mood fluctuates. We don’t always know if we’re going to be greeted in the morning by Happy Jamie or Somewhat Cranky Jamie. Lately she’s had far more of the former than the latter, which is a huge plus for all the primates at CSNW.

If Jamie wakes up on the wrong side of the nest, her crankiness can translate into intolerance for things like dropping food (which we do a lot—especially me, who wins the Clumsiest Caregiver award every year), or playing troll toss too loudly with Foxie, or standing closer to the fencing than Jamie would like. And sometimes, it’s for what seems like no reason at all.

One thing that Somewhat Cranky Jamie doesn’t always like is when we try to take photos or videos of her, especially if she’s working on a project. But she’s been very tolerant of such activities recently, and even let me take this very up close photo of her today:

web_jamie_close-up_eyes_gh_dm_IMG_2392

I usually thank her for letting me take her photo, and to show my appreciation, I turn the camera around so she can see what I captured. She likes to look at photos, so we will scroll through what is on the card until she turns away to find something else to do.

Today, Happy Jamie spent the afternoon getting groomed by caregiver-in-training Whitney, and played a brief game of tug-o-war and chase. Even though Jamie is very human-oriented, she doesn’t always roughhouse with her caregivers, so it’s a real treat when she allows us to play games like that with her. She also spent some quiet time grooming caregiver Lizz for awhile, and has already been on three walks, despite the drizzly overcast skies.

We love days like today… a Happy Jamie means a good day for everyone.

web_jamie_gh_dm_IMG_2390

Taking It All In

by

Today we’ve been lucky enough to have some mild temperatures and sunshine in Cle Elum. After lunch I headed out to the greenhouse, expecting to find most of the chimpanzees lounging out there (their favorite sunny day spot). I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find everyone except for Burrito and Negra outside on Young’s Hill, their two-acre outdoor habitat.

When it’s cold outside, the chimps would generally rather be indoors. The more determined among them might go out for very short periods, but as a rule, the chimps choose to spend most of the winter inside. On mild days, it’s not uncommon to find some activity on the hill – the chimps know that the nice temperatures won’t last long.

When I stepped outside this afternoon there was a large group of hawks circling over Young’s Hill.

web_hawks_circle_above_YH_ek_IMG_2356

I started thinking about how before Young’s Hill was built, the chimps had never had an unobstructed view of the sky before. Young’s Hill has expanded the chimps’ world in more ways than one. In addition to giving them more space to explore, it allows them to see more of their surroundings and to participate more in their environment.

Here’s Annie looking out over the valley adjacent to the sanctuary:

web_Annie_sit_on_climbing_structure_trees_in_background_YH_ek_IMG_2364

The chimps also have a clear line of sight to the driveway, so they can always check out who’s coming and going. Today Jody was very interested to watch volunteers Pam and T.J. arrive for their shift:

web_Jody_sit_on_ground_watch_volunteers_arrive_YH_ek_IMG_2350

Missy, on the other hand, had no time to look around. She was fully focused on her acrobatic feats.

web_Missy_tightrope_walk_firehose_YH_ek_IMG_2330

web_Missy_tightrope_walk_firehose_YH_ek_IMG_2331