Today is the last day of spring, but it definitely feels like we are already deep into the summer months. We aren’t sure just what to do with ourselves in all this heat! The only sure sign that spring hasn’t quite left, is that the grass still has its lovely green pigment, and Negra keeps making her way outdoors to eat the fresh vegetation on Young’s Hill. With the end of spring, comes peak grass height! This morning the chimps disappeared into their 2 acre forest of grass!
Archives for June 2018
Missy the champion food puzzler
Last week Jamie decided to keep walking laps around Young’s Hill with Diana, rather than investigate (and hoard) the evening’s enrichment food puzzle. In Jamie’s absence, some of the other chimps saw their opportunity to take on multiple frozen water bottle puzzles, most notably Missy. As you might notice, Missy is secretly an enrichment puzzle super star!
After the party
The chimpanzees, and particularly the boss lady, started the day out a little tense and have pretty much stuck to that theme all day. There have been a lot of minor arguments and screaming, tension at meals, all stuff that is normal at times in the realm of chimp society. And if even one person is feeling tense, it affects the entire group. Who really knows what the cause is today other than the chimps. There has been a lot of excitement and new happenings in the last week, perhaps an argument between them last night, getting used to the sudden warmer weather, or maybe just waking up on the wrong side of the nest like we all do sometimes. At any rate, a breakfast forage in the cool morning air with time to explore the hill together, and apart, seemed like a good way to start the day.
We’ve been writing all this special week of celebration about a new side of Negra we’ve been seeing. And today’s been no different. With what seemed like an extra purpose in her step, Negra was the first to lead everyone onto the hill this morning and she explored and rambled around on her own for quite some time:
Annie and Negra (background):
Jody chose ALL the watermelon then high-tailed it back to the greenhouse to relish it all while making her classic happy dinosaur (low moan) noises as only Jody can do:
Missy looking so little out there:
Jamie: “This is serious business.”
Foxie and France Dora were busy exploring up and down and hither and yon:
Even within a day of rest and relaxation after all the excitement of the week there have been things happening left and right! As the weather heated up this afternoon we decided to serve snow cones using the chimps’ shaved ice machine with a few frozen grapes and watermelon mixed in.
Then later in the day there was suddenly a huge ruckus with Annie screaming at the top of her lungs. We assumed a disagreement was happening when everyone broke out into alarm calls and we ran in to see a rather large (and harmless) snake, a beautiful yellow-bellied racer, in the playroom who was desperately trying to find his/her way back out the barn doors they had crawled under. The chimps will usually grab or hit smaller garter snakes, but I think due to the size of this one no one was willing to touch it (thankfully, for the snake). But that didn’t stop Jamie from toppling her kitchenette over onto them and throwing random items in attempt to squish the snake. The poor thing was doing their best to get the heck out of there, but couldn’t get traction on the slick floor! We humans were all quietly cheering the snake toward the door, holding our breath (because these things don’t usually end well for the snake) when who but brave little Foxie (and without Dora!) finally took one big swipe and pushed the snake back outside! Yeah, Foxie! Kelsi and I ran outside just in time to see the snake racing off through the fence, unscathed and probably trying to figure out what the heck just happened.
As I write this, all the chimps are settling down into their night nests after a wonderful dinner forage of fresh summer veggies and a favorite evening food puzzle of grab bags. These bags are filled with a variety of enrichment and toys and most importantly to the chimps, some kind of food. Tonight it was stacking containers that screw together filled with small amounts of peanut butter. To say Jamie adores these bags is an understatement. She typically runs around collecting as many as she can, tossing them over her should into a big pile that none of the other chimps would think to touch. As we said our goodnights she was literally surrounded by all her bags, happy as a clam.
Somewhere in all the happenings today I unfortunately lost a few extra photos from yesterdays party I was going to share. Who knows, maybe they will resurface. But! I did capture a priceless bonus photo from today! Often when Jamie builds a nest she likes to incorporate larger items to surround her, rather like a fort. Today she seemed to have had enough of everyone and went all out creating a wall to surround herself with from her kitchenette (notice the doors open to provide more cover) and the brilliant move of using the shopping basket to secretly peer through and watch our every move. All she needed was a moat. A little creepy, a lot brilliant! She is amazing. But we knew this.
Celebration of 10 Years!
Can you believe it, these chimps have been at the sanctuary for 10 years. Over the years whether it was by donation, volunteering, or following the blog we have seen tremendous change in their lives and well-being. In the beginning Foxie didn’t want to have anything to do with enrichment and now Foxie has found love in her dolls. Annie was reserved and had very little confidence and now she is more independent, bold, and confident. Negra was afraid of Young’s Hill and now she adventures to forage all by herself. And not to mention how they have been aging in reverse. It has been a privilege to watch the growth in these seven amazing chimpanzees. But really Negra says it best….
In addition, here are some photos to give you a sneak preview of what tomorrows blog might look like!
Burrito taking a breather from partying:
Foxie swinging with her new France Dora:
Negra searching for some mini bananas:
Negra enjoying some forage she found in a coconut:
Jody was the first to venture out to find what was hidden on the Hill:
Jody was very committed to foraging out there:
Jody got to take full advantage while everyone was preoccupied in the Greenhouse:
Foxie also went out on her own, well France Dora accompanied her of course:
This was just the start, there are more photos to come from our BIG celebration!
More firsts after ten years
The featured photo (the one at the top of the page) literally brought tears to my eyes this morning. Well, not the photo itself, but seeing Negra in the grass with that very relaxed face. She has come so far in the last ten years, and has made new strides just in the last two weeks since I wrote about her (and Foxie’s and Annie’s) independence. And she’s not the only one (there’s a bonus Burrito story down below the photos of Negra).
Two days ago, following our PRT session, I was starting on a walk with Jamie, when I noticed an unmistakable figure ahead. Though I knew it could only be Negra, I really questioned my eyes when I saw this chimpanzee person climb into the hammock. Luckily I had the camera with me and was able to get evidence of what I believe is a first-ever event.
Negra’s main purpose on the hill these days is to find prickly lettuce. She sets off on these expeditions with a certain amount of determination, so it was very special that she stopped and took in the view from this new perspective. And just look at her face in that photo of her in the hammock and the featured photo – she is relaxed, content, and at home.
After this pause, she continued on her journey:
almost disappearing into the sea of grass:
Once she happened upon a spot to forage for the plants she is so fond of, she disappeared again, this time into a sea of wild mustard:
I moved to get a better angle (Jamie was being quite patient with me taking photos of Negra, waiting to continue the walk we had begun):
Here’s one for perspective. Negra is at the very top of the hill, beyond the tower structures:
Lately on these treks, another chimpanzee, usually Jody (below) or Missy, will join Negra. Perhaps they are ensuring everything is okay, or maybe they are hoping to share in her harvest:
At 45, after decades of living in confinement, Negra proves that it is never too late for anyone to try something new and become something you never thought you would be.
Perhaps Burrito has been observing Negra’s new sense of adventure because today he climbed up onto to the bar structure!
Sometimes I don’t notice when someone hasn’t done something until I see them do it for the first time.
I am pretty sure that Foxie was aware that this was a new occasion because she was very excited to see Burrito up there next to her.
and he seemed pleased with the experience too:
What a fantastic week of firsts as we head into tomorrow’s celebration of the ten year anniversary of the chimpanzees’ arrival to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.
Rock Solid
Foxie is funny when it comes to climbing structures. While the other chimps enjoy shaky bridges, rope nets, and fire hose hammocks, Foxie tries her best not to set foot on anything that isn’t completely solid and firmly attached. One time I watched her rescue a troll doll that was laying in a fire hose hammock by hanging on the ceiling above the hammock and stretching all the way out to grab it with the tips of her toes. She may love her dolls, but she wasn’t about to risk setting foot in a hammock to get to one.
Whenever she tries a new structure, she makes sure to give it a few taps with her doll first, and then she stomps her way across it to assess its integrity. The newest structure on Young’s Hill (built last month) seems to meet her specifications. It’s become one of her go-to spots during her post-breakfast walkabout. I think she may appreciate the view from Young’s Hill more than anyone, and now she has a new, very stable place to enjoy it from.
Happy Birthday, Sylvia!
Burrito’s Pal, Carrie Miller, sponsored today for Annie’s Pal, Sylvia Gandolfo, for her birthday! Carrie shares this message about her lovely gift:
“Happy Birthday to Sylvia, who dearly loves “her girl, Annie Chimpanzee”, and who is the Best Care Manager I know – on and off the job!”
Carrie and Sylvia, we so appreciate you both keeping the chimps in your hearts and always choosing to add to their lives as you celebrate your own.
Sylvia, we hope you have a really beautiful day full of all that makes your heart happy. Thank you for helping to ensure Annie and her family have all their days forward to celebrate.