Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Archives for August 2016

The waning days of summer

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I often think of those summer days as a child that felt like they would go on forever, no worries, no cares. Lolling away the warm, lazy days in a summer breeze, enjoying my time before the responsibilities and changes of autumn arrived. It remains a magical time in my mind and makes me so grateful to see the chimps enjoying such a time even as summer wanes into the coming days of autumn.

Our days at the sanctuary are still warm, but the nights have a definite chill that brings dew in the mornings. The chimps’ garden is nearing it’s end, but still full of activity.

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With full bellies from lunch, the chimps were anxious to settle into their nests and enjoy and nap and the breeze. Heading out to the greenhouse, I was excited to find Annie within the lens reach. Annie isn’t often one who enjoys having her photo taken which is unfortunate because she is so beautiful! But she was so relaxed and comfortable I guess she decided to tolerate the camera:

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But as we are learning more and more, Annie is full of sass and moxie! She took one look at the camera and immediately flipped her lip to make a silly face.

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Which she thought was pretty funny:

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Burrito, ridiculously adorable as usual:

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Annie foreground, Burrito background:

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Anything for Love

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J.B. mentioned a couple weeks ago that Burrito’s life often revolves around watching the female chimpanzees’ swellings. When they are in full swell, he will follow them around pretty much all day, simply staring at their pink behinds. Sometimes he has to go out of his way a little bit to keep a watchful eye. Today, Annie was the object of his steady gaze.

Burrito can easily climb and is quite strong, but he is not seen as often on the taller outdoor structures, swinging and playing like Missy and Annie. When we see Burrito in an unusual place, it’s a pretty good indicator that someone is at full swell and he has designated himself to be their full time companion.

Annie (left) took Burrito (right) to the top of one of the play structures this morning and he looked maybe just slightly out of his element.
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Burrito (left) Annie (right)
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While Missy may choose to slack line the fire hose that parallel the shakey bridges, Burrito will use that same hose for a safety hand railing. For a good example of Missy and Annie’s amazing agility, check out Diana’s blog from last Saturday. This morning, Burrito kept a firm grip on the fire hose to keep his balance while he crossed the bridge behind Annie.
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Slow and steady

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I love watching the chimpanzees forage for the food we spread throughout Young’s Hill (the chimps’ outdoor enclosure). Each chimp has their own strategy. Jody usually gathers as much food as possible, as quick as possible, before heading back to the Greenhouse to eat.

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And Foxie tends to eat as she goes and makes multiple trips throughout the day to look for more food. She seems to abide by the slow and steady method of foraging.

She ate beets and chow on round one…

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…carrots on her second round…

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…and potatoes on the third round.
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Finally, she took some time to take in the views from the top of one of the structures.

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Wild Chimpanzees

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Don’t tell Missy and Annie that they fall into the “elderly” category for chimpanzees. Just watch today’s video!

All of the chimps REALLY enjoyed the cooler weather this morning and were out and about. I took about four zillion photos, but when I was going through them, I realized I needed to highlight the video clips of Annie and Missy’s Olympic-worthy antics.

Facets of Foxie

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One of the great things about getting to know a chimpanzee is you learn how multidimensional their personalities are. When you first start being around chimps (or reading a blog about chimps), you learn what their favorite things are. Take Foxie for instance, she loves her Troll and Dora the Explorer dolls and she has a sweet tooth (fruit smoothie is always a hit).

Then as you dig a little deeper, you learn a little bit more…

Foxie is widely known for her mischievous fun personality. She does flips and spins with her caregivers and chimp friends. She tests human newcomers by spitting a stream of water at them, and she also plays with old caregiver friends by spitting a stream of water at them. She can get Jamie (who is usually the most serious of the bunch) to roll around on the floor, laughing and wrestling. Foxie is daring and brave, adventuring to all corners of Young’s Hill by herself (or with a doll in tow) and often being the leader in the hunt to find intruding snakes. She is also the peacekeeper of the group, sometimes trying to diffuse a situation with dramatic over the top play behavior. She is good friends with the boisterous Burrito, spending hours in the greenhouse grooming with him. Their friendship has limits though. When Burrito is running around the building, displaying and scaring the group (as male chimpanzees have a tendency to do), Foxie seems personally affronted when he tries to intimidate her. She turns the tables on him and may then chase him around, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Foxie is friendship, courage, and fun, rolled into a small chimpanzee package.
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