Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for August 2018

Jody on the mend

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Jody is recovering right now on a big, comfortable pile of blankets after undergoing a procedure to repair an injury to her eye.

Yesterday, during lunch, the chimps got into a fight. There’s nothing unusual about that, as you probably know by now. And it’s not unusual for a chimp to get bitten or scratched during these kinds of fights either but they don’t often require much in the way of treatment. However, during this fight Jody’s eyelid became partially detached and a quick surgical repair was required.

The staff and Dr. Zamzow quickly isolated Jody in Front Room 1, our medical treatment enclosure, and prepared Jody for anesthetization. When Jody was safely under, Dr. Zamzow reattached the eyelid with a few subcuticular sutures and we did a quick health exam before letting Jody recover.

Jody getting prepped in the enclosure for an IV catheter after receiving the anesthetic:

Whenever we do these procedures, we get the other chimps out into the Greenhouse and Young’s Hill to allow the patient some peace and quiet inside during induction and recovery. By evening, Jody was starting to come around while the other chimps were eager to check in on their friend.

Jody recovering after the procedure:

Missy, Jamie, Burrito, and Foxie checking on Jody through the windows to the playroom:

When Dr. Zamzow finished suturing, Jody’s eye looked so good that I had to try to remember which eye had been injured! But the challenge in treating chimps is getting them to ignore their wounds and leave sutures in place. For the next couple of days, Jody will remain separate from the other chimps, though she can have contact with them through the caging. Foxie and Annie in particular have expressed concern for Jody and check in on her regularly.

We’ll be keeping a close watch on Jody’s eye as it heals and hoping that no follow up procedures are necessary. For now, she’s happy being catered to and seems to be really enjoying some quiet time on one of the largest nests she’s ever built.

The Princess and the Pea:

 

A Very Missy Birthday

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We’ve had the utter delight of knowing Missy for ten years now, and we’ve learned that she wants two things in life: tomatoes and adventure. So for her 43rd birthday today, caregivers risked life and limb by scaling the various climbing structures on Young’s Hill to create a tomato-themed obstacle course for the birthday girl.

Late summer forage

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It seems like the entire Pacific Northwest has been blanketed with smoke this week. There are no fires in the immediate area, but nevertheless, winds have been blowing the smoke our direction. Luckily, the chimpanzees’ playroom is a nice cool, well-ventilated escape from the outdoors. We’ve also been boosting the chimps’ immune systems with respiratory tea and other natural supplements as per our veterinarian’s (Dr. Zamzow) recommendations.

This morning it was relatively clear and cool at the sanctuary- perfect foraging weather! In addition to the usual breakfast fruit and primate chow, we added some cattails that grow wild in our pond at the sanctuary and scattered them around Young’s Hill. The chimps ate the fruit immediately and spent the rest of their morning leisurely wadging the cattail fiber.

Negra:

Burrito:

Jody:

Summer’s exhale

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The lush green of summer has melted into a golden reverie. Days are still warm, but early mornings and nights are decidedly cool, sometimes even goosebump inducing. Blooms have turned to berries, seeds are scattering in the wind along with feathers from empty nest boxes, and the remaining wild families are growing, juveniles bouncing between parent and independence. Summer’s exhale.

The chimps spent a long time exploring on the hill this morning after breakfast. Longer than I’ve seen for awhile. Climbing old haunts and investigating nooks and crannies. Annie and Burrito traversed the shaky bridges and just spent time enjoying, well, their time.

Foxie and Strawberry Shortcake:

Jamie:

Jody returned from her wild foraging adventures and sat in the raceway to Young’s Hill with her wildflower treat:

Meanwhile, back in the chimp house, Foxie!

Taking a break from cleaning:

Great Morning

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It was a great morning to go outside! All the chimps were out playing on the structures, walking the perimeter, foraging for foliage, or if you were Negra you were still in bed.

Missy started her morning with some tight rope walking:

And she was feeling pretty good about it:

Burrito spent a lot of his morning following Annie around:

Annie pretended not to notice Burrito, and enjoyed some slices of grapefruit:

I found Burrito under the bridge watching the ladies from below:

Annie on the platform, Missy on the fire hose, and Burrito underneath:

Once they were off the Hill, Missy (left) and Annie (right) decided to groom:

Missy laid down, and Annie kept grooming:

Foxie (front) and Jody (behind) decided to walk most of the perimeter of the Hill until they both got distracted by foliage and climbing structures:

This blanket lump is actually Negra. She was too comfy to get out of bed:

Jamie spent her morning going on a walk, and later laying on a barrel with some of her beloved boots. She had to supervise the volunteers while they cleaned:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday, Arlene!

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The celebration continues today of a weekend of sanctuary for the chimpanzees from their good friends, Michael and Arlene, in honor of Arlene’s birthday! It’s a good month to be born, right inbetween Foxie and Missy (who turns 43 this coming Thursday the 23rd)! We couldn’t be happier than to celebrate three such special souls.

Thank you again, Michael, for sponsoring this special weekend!

Arlene, we hope you have the most wonderful of days! From our tiny sanctuary in the Cascades, all the primates here are grateful knowing your beautiful heart is in the world. Happy Birthday!

The August birthday ladies, Foxie:

and Missy: