Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for November 2023

Giving Thanks!

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A donor recently bought us a Fire TV stick and the chimps have been captivated by the new videos! Previously, our TV only was able to play DVDs, but now we can stream anything online. Willy B’s favorite types of videos include chimpanzees, so it was pretty easy to decide to first put on our own YouTube channel for them to watch. As you will see in today’s video, Dora, Lucky, Willy B, and Cy were captivated by the whole experience so far. We don’t have the TV on all the time, so they definitely take notice and enjoy it when it is time!

Thank you to the special donor who bought the Fire stick for us! Thank you to all of our donors who help us 365 days a year. We appreciate you, greatly!

Exciting news! Ornaments of each of our residents (chimpanzees and bovine) have been added to the online auction! These are one of my personal favorite items to bid on and Grace and I have already been outbidding one another. Join us!

We also have a matching donation from Monica Best (official founder of the Comfort & Joy Quid Pro Throw Online Auction) from now until the end of the auction until we reach the total goal of $20,000 raised! Bidding and donating ends tomorrow, Saturday, November 18th at 6:00 PM PT/ 8:00 PM CT/ 9:00 PM ET, so the time to bid is now!

Identifying Terry

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Today is my last blog on the identifying the Lucky 6 series, and it’s time to talk about Terry! Terry is quite distinguishable as a fluffy guy with a big freckly face. He looks a fair amount like his half sister Mave. His two front teeth are a little bit in the buck tooth category and his left big toe is also unique and sticks up! After you watch the above video, what features might you use to identify Terry?

Chimp Lesson #7: It Can Wait

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Last month, caregiver Sabrina wrote the first in a series of blogs titled ‘Lessons the Chimps Have Taught Us‘. Today, I would like to add to it. 🙂

We mention it quite often, but our days here are buuuusssyyy. We have a lot to do and time tends to slip away from us, or maybe time really does just go faster when you’re in the chimp house. Either way, we have to make conscious decisions throughout the day about how we spend our time to make sure we get everything done and also spend time with the chimps.

This morning, Sabrina and I went and did our perimeter check of Young’s Hill and the Bray. I was standing by the raceway (the connecting enclosure from the Greenhouse to Young’s Hill) while giving caregiver Jenna my safety report over the radio and Burrito was already being his wild self! Wanting to play a game of chase, he would run over to me, stomp his back foot, and go running off- with me following, of course. I thought that I would need to take a few minutes to play chase with him before doing the rest of the lead caregiver’s morning responsibilities, but he had other things in mind.

As soon as I opened the door, he was running! And, not just running, but looking back at me, clapping, breathy panting, and stomping his feet. Not only was he going for a morning jog around the hill, but I was about to go with him.

I always get really happy when a chimp asks me to spend time with them- whether it be a walk outside, a quiet grooming session, or a game of chase. It’s just, well, special. And it never gets old.

While I was happy to spend time with Burrito, my mind was definitely on everything that I had to get done today. A few steps around the hill, though, Burrito paused our race to sit down while looking back at the chimp house. The winter chill could definitely be felt this morning and there was a layer of fog around the foothills, but the blue winter-y morning light made everything extra breath-taking.

I grew up in Ohio and while the Midwest has it’s own charm and beauty, I don’t think there’s anything like the mountains on a cold winter morning.

So, all this to say that today I was reminded of one of the things that the chimps have taught me.

Your to-do list will always be there and it will always be just as important. But- taking the time to spend quality, fully present moments with people you love is a pretty good reason to put it on hold. It can wait… Burrito can’t. 🙂

I hope you enjoy this mornings walk as much as I did.

Photos from My Vault

Gordo, enjoying a sunny lunch forage:

Terry, looking out to the Bray:

Don’t forget to participate in our Comfort & Joy Online Auction– be sure to get your bids & donations in before the event ends this Saturday, November 18th. 🙂

Caregivers, Assemble!

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I send my apologies to our supporters, followers, well-wishers, and passersby of today’s blog. Today is the first time staff had a meeting since a couple weeks before Jamieween. Usually, I can put together a blog and photos after the meetings, but since some time has passed since our last meeting, there was a lot to discuss. So please excuse today’s blog as it is really several ideas I had today to write about, but wasn’t able to let any of them to come to full fruition.

Willy B seemed a tad annoyed when I thought I would write a blog about him since it has been a little while

So I let that idea go.

Mave inspired the thought of trying to write about chimpanzee facial expressions

But a blog like that would require a little more time to do it justice.

Jamie carrying her boot onto Young’s Hill

And Cy carrying his magazine onto the Bray

I was going to have a montage of enrichment items the chimps bring with them into the outdoor enclosures, but I couldn’t find anybody else and I didn’t have time to go through our archives.

Rayne getting low to get a better look at the approaching stranger danger (really it was Jenna in her street closes that threw Rayne off)

And Jamie and Burrito going around Young’s Hill with caregivers Grace, Jenna, and Diana

Which in turn ended up Burrito going around Young’s Hill with me

Those last few sets of photos inspired me to think of writing a blog on chimpanzee/caregiver interactions/relationships. But again, time stopped me.

Maybe those topics will be covered someday, however today isn’t that day unfortunately.

And thank you to everyone that joined us during last nights online gathering for Comfort & Joy! If you couldn’t make it, you can watch the event on YouTube. And if you thought that was the end of the auction, it’s not! You still have time to bid on your favorite items until November 18th!

Fun, Sun, New Experiences, and a Nickname

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It was a brisk fall day today, with periodic and most welcome appearances from the sun. In addition to the patrol that Jamie graciously invited Amanda and I on (after we figured out the proper footwear, of course), we decided to take advantage of that warming orb in the sky and set out a forage in both respective outdoor habitats.

If you aren’t quite sure who Amanda is, she introduced herself in last night’s Comfort & Joy Virtual Gathering presentation, which you can watch here!

Staff member Amanda and volunteer Amanda (we are doubly blessed with Amandas on most Mondays of late) prepared the forage, which consisted of a bunch of scrumptious fall-themed leftovers, including pumpkin, corn, and pomegranates. I suggested to the Amandas that they make a separate bowl for Negra because I doubted that she would venture outside in the windy 46 degrees.

I should know better than to doubt our Queen. Negra was lined up in the Raceway and was the first one on Young’s Hill. Her food grunts could be heard from all of the caregivers watching in delight as she happened upon the pumpkin and corn:

Missy made sure to check the forage hiding spots on high:

On the other side of the sanctuary, Terry was the first out on The Bray, quickly collecting a personal bushel of onions and demonstrating with his posture why J.B. has given him the nickname Meatball:

These days when the sun outcompetes the murmurs of winter-to-come are some of my favorite days at the sanctuary, and I think the chimpanzees feel the same.

 

Human Time

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Chimp house mornings are quite busy. We begin by prepping meds and breakfast and putting together the day’s food puzzles, and then spend the next 4-5 hours cleaning enclosures. The chimps spend most of that time eating, playing, grooming, and occasionally squabbling with one another. When lunch is finally served, there is a bit of a reprieve from the more hurried morning pace. It is then that we begin to clean dishes, wash produce, fold laundry, prepare enrichment, and work on the blog. The chimps know that they can’t ask for too much of our time in the morning, but in the afternoon we will usually drop whatever we are doing to cater to their wishes.

Each chimp has their own preference when it comes to socializing with caregivers. Some prefer to take walks or play chase, while others would rather sit quietly and groom. With Gordo, I’m lucky if I can get a brief bunny hop out of him, while with Burrito, I’m lucky if I can ever get back to work. Foxie wants to play with dolls, Terry wants to groom boots, Lucky wants to pick scabs off and maybe create a few new ones, and Cy wants to give a few tickles. Willy B wants to watch movies on our phones, though if he could figure out how to do this without the need for humans he probably would. That said, he does sometimes play chase with us, which involves him running away and then bouncing up and down while facing the wall. Go figure.

These moments are play time for us caregivers, too, but they are every bit as important as the other work we do.

Are you joining us for the Comfort & Joy Virtual Gathering tonight at 5pm PT/8pm ET? If you can’t make it, there’s still time to visit the online auction and bid on items for yourself or for the chimps—including helping us complete those new climbing structures. The bidding ends 11/18!