I should know better than to make predictions regarding construction timelines but I think it’s safe to say that we are within a couple months of the “Cali 3” moving into their new playrooms. Then, assuming our year-end fundraising is successful, we move on to completing the greenhouses. When that is done, we plan to welcome six more chimps and then create a 2nd two-acre habitat. It’s going to be a busy year!
Chimps always seem to know when the things we are building are meant for them. When we built Young’s Hill in the summer of 2011, the Cle Elum seven knew right away that it was their new habitat. How would they have known that? They’d spent their lives in small cages and hadn’t been outdoors since they were little kids, if ever. And surely they had never seen an electric fence before. But somehow they knew. In fact, months before we were ready to let them out, I took out my keys to unlock a chain near the entrance to the new enclosure and the chimps began hugging and screaming – they thought I was letting them out! Needless to say, I felt pretty bad about that. Luckily, they did go out later that summer and now Young’s Hill is part of their home. Honey B, Willy B, and Mave are just as ready to claim their new spaces and we’re looking forward to seeing them run, climb, and swing their way through the new playrooms and beyond.
In addition to the video above, I thought I’d share some bonus photos of Foxie from this morning. This is typical Foxie – she starts our patrolling with the gang and then wanders off by herself. She’s got a real independent streak.
J.B.,
There were some photos earlier in the year that showed the approximate boundaries of the two newly designed outdoor areas. It appeared that an extension to the south and east/southeast direction would define the existing area, minus a portion of the original area on the west side…Then the new area would be created with a portion of the former west edge of that outdoor playground and extend to the west toward the electrical towers and south to the trees…
My question relates to whether the “7” willingly give-up their westerly patrol area along the existing boundary or recognize the new east-side extension as a suitable trade….
If there is one thing I have learned by following your site is they are not dumb and they will notice the difference……
Best regards, Tom
Hi Tom – Good question. My guess is that it won’t bother them too much, although Jamie will not be pleased when the renovation restricts her access for a little while. But once everything is up and running again, I think she and the others will happily patrol the altered boundaries of their outdoor space.
It was a double Orange Blossom kind of day!
Can’t wait for all of this!
Thanks, JB.
As Tom mentioned above, I need to review the footprint for the new outdoor yards. Am I correct that the bovine summer pasture will be smaller to accommodate the new yard space? Just guessing this from the position of inspectors Jamie and Burrito. So enjoyed watching Willy B watching your video of the top of Young’s Hill! Wow, was he focused. Loved being so close to his big beautiful face. And the photo of him at the end of the video is simply sublime. As far as Willy B getting used to walking through that prickly grass, me thinks you will be constructing a maze of boardwalks! : )
Ahhh haaa! Just found the overhead shot of the two outdoor enclosures of Phase 2. Now I see how it all works to create the New Young’s Hill and The Bray. Exciting to see this all happening so quickly. I bet the chimps dream about.
Maybe to acclimate the Cali Three in advance, you should show more videos of the Hill on the big screen TV! : )
For anyone else that would like to see the plans: https://chimpsnw.org/2020/06/the-king-of-the-courtyard-and-his-growing-kingdom/
I think your’e right Kathleen; I can see JB hammering away on all those board to make it just right for our Willy B. ( and I absolutely hope also for Honey B. and Marvelous Mave ).
I think your’e right Kathleen; I can see JB hamering away on all those board to make it just right for our Willy B. ( and I absolutely hope also for Honey B. and Marvelous Mave ).
I might have missed understanding this but when the 6 new chimps arrive will they most likely have to be kept separate from the existing 2 groups? So you will have 3 groups with no shared areas?
Hi Sue – We would like to integrate the three with the incoming chimps but as we know, that isn’t always easy so we will be able to accommodate three separate groups in three different sets of indoor/outdoor spaces.
What deep interest and concentration as Willy B looked at the video you were showing him. I just wonder what he was THINKING. He clearly recognized the grounds on the screen.
OMG – LOVED watching Willy B watch the video. The intensity of those eyes. Can’t wait to see how long it takes him to explore it. Thank you caregivers…..
I could see them screaming and hugging one another. Such a sweet, bittersweet moment!
Do the chimps ever get to watch movies?
Yes they do! Willy B is the biggest movie buff but Foxie and Burrito also like to watch movies.
This was wonderful to see J.B.! What amazing progress you have all been making in preparation for your new arrivals. Since they are coming from the same facility as the California 3..do they already know each other and if so, since it hasn’t been that long since they’ve been separated, they will surely remember each other…correct? I wasn’t sure if all the chimps from Waystation were all housed together or separate…
PS. That concentration on Willy B’s face is just extraordinary! 🙂
Hi Chris – The Waystation chimps were housed in ten different groups. Six of those groups were in the “compound”, which was sort of the main campus of the sanctuary, and four groups were in what was called “Q1”. Willy B, Honey B, and Mave were in Q1 so they only had visual access to the three other groups down there (a single male, a pair of males, and a groups of four). However, they had been at the Waystation for two decades and in that time we understand that they may have lived with some other chimps for short periods. Chimps seem to have a similar memory for other chimps and people as we do so if they did cross paths at some point I bet they will remember each other. Whether that is a good thing or not is hard to say…
I am so excited for all the chimps, including the 6 new chimps coming next year! I am confident that the soon-to-be 16 (!!) chimps will be in the best of hands. To think that just over a year ago there were only 7. That is quite a rapid expansion of chimps, and it is so nice that you keep us all updated with all that goes on there. I follow daily and really appreciate the thoughtfulness and time you put into sharing the sanctuary with your supporters.
You can see the deep intelligence and knowing in Willy B’s face and eyes. Great video!
The look and focus of Willy B is so inspiring… Thanks J.B. , Diana.. and all… The only true constant in life is change and wowwy is that true for CSNW right now.. but all this is nothing compared to what it will be like with the new-comers.. Ever exciting.. with concerns mixed in.. What a wonderful thing that we out here get to “participate” in. 🙂
Hi, In past pictures, I saw that some chimps can see the new build workers right outside their windows. Has any of the chimps like Burrito who loves to play tried to interact with the workers?
Hi Rachel – Burrito and the rest of the “Seven” live in a different part of the sanctuary, so they don’t have the opportunity to interact directly with the workers through the windows. But Honey B loves watching them and on occasion she will try to interact with them. So far, however, she only wants to play with her caregivers through the windows when they go in to inspect the new areas.
Thank you for the update! It is great to see progress is being made to bring more chimpanzees to the sanctuary.
No snow yet?
A couple of dustings but no real snow yet. It’s been raining and in the 40s lately. Burrito is having to settle for ice cubes from the freezer!