Many thanks to Dylan Most for always helping the chimpanzees, cows, (and humans) welcome the return of summer here in the northern hemisphere with a day of sanctuary!
Above, our Queen Negra demonstrates summer mode well, lying down on her porch, positioned to catch any breeze that comes a long while munching on summery snacks, and chatting with any neighborly passersby (or yelling at them as deemed necessary).
Missy enjoying her pineapple:
Mave, Dora, and Honey B:
Foxie and her watermelon bowl:
Honey, Meredith, and Betsy:
Willy B enjoying a drink from his Gatorade pool:
A question we often get is if the chimpanzees would enjoy a pool to get in when it’s hot. Generally speaking, nope, they sure would not! Chimpanzees don’t tend to enjoy getting wet, let alone being submerged in water. And given that they have different bone and muscular structure than humans which renders them unable to swim, this makes sense. While there are a few exceptions you may have seen in regard to individuals sitting and playing in water, you won’t find any of those people here at the sanctuary. Our friends do enjoy the pools of water and Gatorade we put out for drinking, foraging for enrichment we add in for them, and even occasionally spitting water on unsuspecting humans to help them (and us, apparently) cool off though!
Rayne lounging by the pool, chimpanzee style:
George:
Thank you so much, Dylan! A beautiful summer ahead to all of you (and for those of you in the southern hemisphere – eat some snow snacks for Burrito 😉 ).
