Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for July 2019

Fishing for Greens

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The chimpanzees’ friend and veterinarian, Dr. Erin Zamzow, arrived at the sanctuary today with two big paper bags overflowing with beautiful greens harvested by her neighbor. The timing of the delivery was perfect as we were getting ready to set up a forage on the hill for the chimps’ lunch.

If you have been following the blog for a bit, you might guess which of the chimpanzees went right for all of the greens she could find. You can see in the photos below how Jody got the nickname Farmer Jo.

We had spread the bounty of greens in different parts of the hill, along with some onions, primate chow, sweet potatoes, and a few bonus cherries (thanks to Darwin’s Natural Pet Products and Charlie’s Produce for the yummy cherries!).

The grass on the hill has taken on a life and personality of it’s own. The blades were moving in unison with the wind likes waves in a sea. We could see Jody’s shape glide through the grass in one direction only to abruptly switch direction as she spotted another stem to add to her collection.

We would catch a glimpse of her surfacing from the tall grass once in a while, her arms and mouth stuffed to their limit:

As is her habit, she returned to the greenhouse with her haul, taking her time to enjoy every delicious bite.

The spy and the acrobat

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Mornings on Young’s Hill are a flurry of activity.

The chimps leave the greenhouse after breakfast and race from structure to structure, motivated in part, I imagine, by the desire to see what changes may have occurred overnight while they slept.

The structures offer the best vantage points to spot everything from nearby wildlife to vehicles coming up the driveway.

This morning, Jody had only one thing on her mind: she immediately made a beeline to the Twister to search for the cows.

She found them resting beneath the shade of the Ponderosa pines, just beyond the fence. It looked to me like she thought back up was on its way, but she was going to have to perform her reconnaissance alone.

As the cows rose from their naps, Jody spied on them through the fire hose web.

Soon her cover was blown and she found herself facing down 6,000 pounds of curious bovines, so she retreated to the company of her chimpanzee family.

Meanwhile, Missy played the “ground is lava” game, oblivious to the drama at the top of the hill.

She followed Jamie around without setting foot on the ground…

…aided by her incredible balance, a pair of opposable big toes, and let’s just call it a low center of gravity.

While Jamie trudged through the tall grass, Missy leapt and swung above it all.

Happy 4th of July!

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Happy 4th of July everyone! I am sure we all think of fresh fruit, chips, hot dogs/hamburgers (veggie of course), and a crisp drink when we think about gathering with friends and family to celebrate our Independence Day. I mean what could be more 4th of July than a good old fashion BBQ?! I though I would share what was on the menu for our party.

We started our day with a nice refreshing fruit salad bowl made by our lovely volunteers:

Next we moved to the Hill forage for lunch. We cooked up some veggie dogs, Negra and Burrito almost screamed when they saw the buns, cut up some watermelon, we baked fries, sprinkled a few cherry tomatoes, shucked corn, and cut up some spears of cucumber (that we pretended were pickles)! Don’t worry we did not forget about refreshments, the chimps drank some Martinelli’s as well.

I would scream for this meal too:

I know there is a video, but I thought I would share just a few photos too!

Jamie walking on the firehose:

Annie found one of the many boats:

And Negra.

She was moving around everywhere today, it was fun to see where she would pop up:

The Greenhouse

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The Greenhouse is a space that provides many benefits to the chimps. The Greenhouse is the gateway to Young’s Hill, there are different levels of platforms for the chimps to look out or rest on, and  warm spots to sprawl out and bake in the spring/summer. The Greenhouse is also a common space where the chimps like to lounge around, have big grooming sessions, and play games with their human and non-human friends. The wide-open, but secure air space in the Greenhouse is what makes it so wonderful for the chimpanzees. The Greenhouse is so lovely that sometimes it is hard to get the chimps out of it so we can clean. Who could blame them for not wanting to leave?! I have a collection of Greenhouse photos from yesterday and today, I hope you enjoy!

Annie:

Bubba (Burrito) being goofy:

Jody snacking on foliage from the Hill:

Foxie in and out of napping on the top of the Greenhouse platform:

Negra:

Missy self grooming:

Delightful

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I walked out to the Green House to attempt to get a few photos for the blog and to my delight Burrito and Jody were breathy panting, wrestling, and play biting. I had to do a double take! There was no way that this was happening AND I had the camera on hand! While I was double checking that this was real I looked over to Jody who had the biggest drooped lip. Jody looked so content. She was having fun but also did not have to get up and over exert herself. Burrito couldn’t have looked happier and he was playing so gently. It was so fun to watch, however I didn’t stay long because I didn’t want to ruin the moment. I hope you all enjoy!