New Friends

The Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees don’t have a lot of guy friends. JB is the only male staff member and the majority of our chimp house volunteers are women. Since men are such a novelty around here, they’re usually given an enthusiastic welcome by the chimps.

Volunteer Zane has recently progressed in his training from Level I to Level II, which means that instead of working solely in the kitchen and away from the chimpanzees, he is now cleaning enclosures, offering the chimps a previously unprecedented level of (visual) access to him. They couldn’t be happier. Annie and Jody both gave him extended googly-eyed greetings this morning, and Burrito spent awhile sitting in the front rooms this afternoon craning his neck to try to get a good view of Zane processing produce in the kitchen. Here’s to new friends!