Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

Rayneception

by Anthony

For weeks now, I’ve been bringing my camera with me when I walk between the two new greenhouses (Oakwood and Riverview) in hopes of catching someone looking through the canvas flaps that separate those areas from the indoor playrooms. The concept formed when I saw Rayne pause there a while back and thought the rectangular doorway framed her face nicely. Sadly, I did not have my camera with me at the time, but Rayney had already inspired (or incepted?) the idea into my mind.

This afternoon, Rayne unknowingly made me a happy photographer. (I’d say she made me a happy caregiver, but she does that everyday regardless.) I was walking by the greenhouses and trawling for blog material when she popped her head out to see what I was up to. Rayne calmly paused in the doorway, gently lifted the curtains, and peered out into the greenhouses to see if there was any activity worthy of her time. I cheerfully snapped a few shots, excited that my vision for a composition had actually manifested itself into a real photo. I might need to do a little editing to make the image look the way I think it should, but Rayne clearly did most of the work here.

As I was transferring the image file to the desktop computer we use for blogging, I found some other photos of Rayne that I don’t remember sharing here before. I hope her tender, inquisitive demeanor comes through in the photos!

 

Subscribe To Blog Via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sandie L. Allaway says

    :tulip:Just beautiful. They always make my heart beat faster, so thank you for these beautiful photos.

  2. CarolR says

    What a perfect pose! You’re certainly in the right place as a photographer, Anthony as they provide endless opportunities, if only when THEY decide, to allow you to capture their wonderful images. I love the one with the red blanket…..she looks like a bored commuter making her way to work.

    • Anthony says

      Thanks, Carol! The chimps are always fascinating subjects just by being who they are.

      Now I’m imagining someone shouting “Mind the gap!” as the chimps shift from one enclosure to another. 🙂

  4. Marya says

    Thank you, Anthony! That first photo of her peeking out is just precious and made me smile after a long day of being grumpy (or tired or annoyed or whatever the combo has been). Rayne provided the medicine of a dose of what’s really important and I thank you and her for that! Yesterday I wrote a comment which didn’t “take” I discovered later, so I hope this one will. It hasn’t been an ongoing problem so maybe I forgot to click Submit when I thought I had. Who knows these days! So many moving parts — and some of them are the joys of watching the chimps being themselves.

    • Anthony says

      I’m glad you enjoyed the photos, Marya! As for the comment submission difficulty, let us know if it continues and we can try to troubleshoot!

  6. Paulette says

    “I hope her tender, inquisitive demeanor comes through in the photos!”
    It does. Perfectly.
    Seeing as how she is inquisitive, can she see any goings-on on the Bray from the greenhouse or playrooms? When that gets going, I imagine her supervising, like Honey-B.

    • Anthony says

      Hey Paulette! Rayne and her group currently have views of Young’s Hill and the surrounding pastures from their playroom windows. They will definitely be able to watch the expansion of the Hill and construction of the Bray this spring! I imagine all sixteen chimps will be monitoring the progress from their lofts and platform lookouts.

  7. Nancy Duryea says

    Definately a cuteness overload. I love the picture of Rayne showing off her blanket and the one of her peeking through the curtains looks as if she is thinking ‘what in the heck is going on over there’. She really is so pretty.

  11. Kathleen says

    Perfection Anthony. So happy you captured the moment you imagined and patiently waited for. And I love the blue ball in the foreground, if I didn’t know better I would have thought the entire scene was staged.

    As I mentioned in the comments in yesterdays blog, Rayne often makes that silly puffy lip face that you caught in the photo with the plaid blanket. Eeesh, I simply adore her facial expressions. Not only did you perfectly capture Rayne in these images, you also described Rayne to perfection…a “tender and inquisitive demeanor”. Yes! That is exactly what I see in those eyes, always.

    • marianne says

      Hi Kathleen,
      I think that the fact that she does not have any upper front teeth has a lot to do with that silly puffy lip face ! ( makes it harder to chew I’d immagine…)

      • Kathleen says

        Wait! What?! How did I miss this tidbit about Rayne? I didn’t realize she has no upper front teeth. Thanks Marianne. This will make me love that face all the more.

        • Anthony says

          Marianne’s right, Kathleen. Rayne’s missing a few teeth so she can tuck her upper lip into her gums. It makes her relaxed chimp “smile” look a bit goofy but very endearing. 🙂

      • Paulette says

        interesting to hear this because the thought came into my head that perhaps she had a toothache. Which then led me to wonder, how would the caregivers know? If a chimp had a toothache?

        • Anthony says

          We would notice if the toothache was bothering a chimp to the point of altering their preferences or behavior. Some individuals will voluntarily open their mouths and show us their teeth. On top of all that, Dr. Erin incorporates dental exams into any veterinary procedures we do under anesthesia.

  13. marianne says

    I was just ( re-) watching a video where Honey B, Rayne and Lucky met each other in one of the first introductions.
    In the text it said; Honey B., Rayne and Lucky are halfsisters because they all have the same father.
    So if Cy and Lucky are siblings, Cy would also be related to Rayne and Honey B. !? Unless Cy and Lucky are also Half-siblings, but they are being called brother and sister?? Please explain that to me?

    • Anthony says

      Yes, all four of them (Cy, Honey B, Lucky and Rayne) were sired by a chimp named Herbie. Cy and Lucky share a mother whose name was Sally, making them full siblings. Their half-siblings Honey B and Rayne have different mothers: CSNW resident Missy and a chimp named Thelma, respectively.

      Chimpanzees were shuttled among facilities back then and a few male chimps were introduced to dozens of females for breeding purposes. The geneology is better described as an interwoven web than as a branching tree.