Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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  5. Linda C says

    nice shot of the buck.
    Good to see Willy B making use of his tv (any moms out there feel the urge to say “turn that thing off, and go play outside!” ???)
    At some point in my lifetime, I hope to see a bluebird…

    • Anthony says

      Thank you, Linda! The young muley buck was courting a doe by the upper pond. He’s clearly not from around here because he was perturbed by my presence.

      As for Willy, he spent the afternoon watching TV and napping after having Courtyard adventures before lunch.

      The bluebirds are flitting around the Chimp House with a bravado that we haven’t seen before. It’s odd to clean a chimp window with a territorial bluebird on the other side (it feels like they’re ominously threatening you when they’re really just after their own reflection).

      • Linda C says

        well, sure….now imagine how the construction crew felt when they saw a full-sized chimp coming at them through the windows!

  6. Kathleen says

    Young’s Hill and surroundings are full of life and busy! Very beautiful. Thanks for all the photos.

    I am curious about the soft A shaped arch that the cows are walking under.

    • Anthony says

      Thanks, Kathleen! The archway is a back-rubber for the cattle. We saturate it with insect repellent to help them cope with parasitic flies.

      • Kathleen says

        Thanks for time to reply. That is so clever! Brilliant really and very cool. The dog shelter where I volunteer is located on a farm and they recently took in some new cows. I can’t wait to share this gadget with them! (It’s horsefly season now—ugh!)

        Now I have to ask, since I’ve never seen one of these before, did J.B. or one of you design/invent this? You think of everything at CSNW.

        • Anthony says

          As innovative as J.B. had been during his tenure at CSNW, he did not invent the back-rubber. I’m new to the bovine world and still learning how to care for cattle, but back-rubbers seem to be a fairly common device in ranches and dairies.

          We hung it in an open gateway where the cattle pass from one pasture to another. We saturate it with insect repellent and it rubs against their sides each time they pass through, and it seems to be helping with horn-flies and such.

  8. Chris says

    Just beautiful! I too am curious about that thingy the cows are walking through?

    • Anthony says

      Thanks, Chris! As I responded to Kathleen, the archway is a back-rubber for the cattle. We saturate it with insect repellent to help them cope with parasitic flies.

  9. Chris says

    Ahh! Great idea! It’s too bad they don’t make those fly masks for cows like they do for horses…or do they? Beautiful photos today! You must have a great telephoto for those closeup bird photos. I love your bluebirds! Btw, what does Mr. Willy B enjoy watching on tv? He looks very interested in whatever it was. 🙂

      • Anthony says

        Willy saw a cassowary on one of the nature documentaries and seemed fascinated. His favorite scenes are those that feature chimps, of course.

    • Anthony says

      The sanctuary has a modest collection of Canon gear, including a 100-400mm super-telephoto lens that was donated by some generous supporters a long time ago (and is now sent out for some much-needed maintenance). Last year, a supporter gifted us a 24-105mm zoom lens that is extremely versatile and allows us to take all sorts of portraits “on the fly.” Chad, who has experience as a photojournalist, picked it out!

      I often elect to bring in my own Nikon camera and gear. Recently, I rented a 200-500mm super-telephoto lens just to try it out. It was fun but also very heavy and not well-suited for the grab-and-go photography that we tend to do here. I used that lens for all the wildlife pictures seen here, though. As for the portraits of Willy and Burrito, I used my 35mm portrait lens which is the lightest, sharpest, and fastest piece in my kit.

  10. Chris says

    Ahh, that’s a great idea! I wonder, do they make fly masks for cows? Beautiful photos and I’m so jealous of your bluebirds…We don’t have any over here in western Washington..at least that I’ve seen! Does Mr. Willy B. have a favorite tv show? He looks very, very interested in whatever it is he’s watching! 🙂

    • Anthony says

      They do make fly masks for cattle but they’re more commonly used for equines. These four cattle in our herd probably wouldn’t like wearing something on their faces, haha!

  11. Chris says

    Oops, I didn’t see my first comment earlier so I sent a second one…disregard either one of them! 🙂

  12. Linda Crawford says

    Well, sure…now imagine how the construction crew felt seeing a full-sized *chimp* coming toward them thru the window! 😛