The weather has been unusual this summer. As Katelyn noted yesterday, the temperatures have been cool and the skies have been misty at times. Today is a better example of a typical July day in central Washington- dry, sunny, and warm- and the sanctuary residents are making the most of it. The chimps enjoyed their breakfast while basking in the sunlight on the upper decking of the Greenhouse. The meal included some generously donated green apples and was lovingly served by Level III volunteer Miranda (below).
Afterwards, the chimps seemed to be sufficiently full of fruit and chow and appeared to be extremely content as they slipped into mid-morning naps in various corners of the Greenhouse. Neggie, per usual, settled in a ring of blankets on the upper deck (below), and even Jamie seemed to doze off between bouts of monitoring the caregivers through the playroom window.
Annie sprawled out on the lower decking, tucked her feet in, and inspected the writing on the underside of a toy (below).
Per usual, Missy stationed herself next to Annie and used the opportunity to give herself a quick groom (below). All was quiet in the Greenhouse.
Even when they’re resting and recharging, however, the chimpanzees don’t miss any of the events unraveling around them. Each part of the facility offers a unique view of the surrounding valley, enabling the chimps to be the sentinels of their own territory. Everything the light touches is theirs, and everything that occurs within sight is their business. This morning, that included the team of laborers constructing a new access road that will soon flank the sanctuary to the East (below).
As soon as they started working, Missy took notice (below). Then Annie sat upright and began to follow along. Soon, everyone was spilling out of the raceway onto Young’s Hill to check out the action.
Jamie led the way up the hill, pausing at regular intervals to watch the distant excavation. I could only imagine what she was thinking, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if she was analyzing the grade of the switchbacks or making sure the workers were wearing the proper protective equipment. She’s always supervising.
Foxie and her tiny troll doll traveled in the vanguard, providing Jamie with support and monitoring the situation (below). Missy, Annie, Jody and Burrito all followed close behind. (Neggie “kept watch” over her nest in the Greenhouse.)
Even with all of the planned activities and provisioned objects that the staff and volunteers provide, unexpected events can be the best source of enrichment for the chimps. Both free-ranging and captive chimpanzees engage in regular boundary patrols to survey the landscape and monitor neighboring communities, so unexpected changes can make things interesting. With all of the new developments in their vicinity, the chimps have a lot to keep tabs on as summer progresses and they seem to welcome the responsibility.
Jamie’s gotta make sure they’re all wearing the proper footwear! She wouldn’t miss a chance to check out some different boots!
How much do I love that the lunch photo shows Foxie blowing her raspberries, because you’re not getting to her fast enough!?
Miranda serves the chimps with excellence, but Foxie is always sputtering to remind us that she’s next in line for each item. That’s how meals tend to go around here!
Thanks for the reply, Anthony! I’ve always wondered….when you guys do feeding this way, is there a particular order? Is it necessary to feed “The Boss” first, so her nose won’t be out of joint? Or is it just done in the order that they line up?
That’s a great question that lacks a simple answer. Without a doubt, humans who serve chimpanzees certainly need to consider each group’s hierarchy whenever they pass out food items. For the CSNW chimps, there are many scenarios when it is certainly advisable to serve Jamie first, since she can be quite demanding and dominant. Trying to give a pear to another chimp without first giving one to Jamie would be a bad idea, for example. In every aspect of our caregiving routine, we minimize our influence so that we don’t disrupt their relationships. Chimpanzees can be surprisingly tolerant, though, and they are intelligent enough to remember the meal routine and understand that everyone gets a similar portion. Most of the time, the chimps use gestures and other cues to let the caregiver know when they are ready to receive a food item, so we generally just “read” their behavior and go with the flow.
Thanks! I’ve always wondered…..so…when it’s one of the Boss’s *favorites* , then the Boss comes first! Got it!
I enjoy the way you write, your captioned photos are a delight to read! I think Annie was reading the fine print that states “This toy contains small parts that might be swallowed. Please supervise play.” I let out loud, slight gasp and slight sigh of joy when I read “Everything the light touches is theirs….”. Oh my, there’s a lovely graphic/poster in that I can almost envision it. Thank you Anthony for unfurling the days events for such, your brought the sanctuary to life! Thank you everyone for loving these beautiful chimp people as you do.
I wish I could take credit for that phrase, but I am glad that you enjoy reading about the sanctuary!
Very nice post Anthony and thank you for it!!!! You have a nice literary style. Hope (am quite sure) that you’re having fun!! Love and hugs to you all…
Every day brings new experiences, and learning to be a caregiver here has been fun! Thank you for following along.
Hi, Anthony,
Well, Kathleen beat me to it, but I’ll say it anyway. About two sentences into your posting it occurred to me that perhaps you had a background in writing; if you don’t, then you certainly have the potential. For me personally, it’s a huge relief to log into this blog to not just read about the chimps, natch, but to read impeccable grammar (spelling, punctuation, and syntax) from the postings. Typos and mistakes of ignorance just whip me right out of the story being told, and like Kathleen expressed, I love being swept away with the imagery being painted by the verbiage. We on this side of the screens will probably never have the chance to even be close to your shoes, let alone be IN them, so what you give us is about as good as it will ever be for us; the quixotic scenery you paint for us with your expressions is as close to a real chimpanzee as many of us will ever get, and that’s important to everyone who comes here regularly.
I’ve shared this here before, but one of the things I was not allowed to grade on but always made a point of correcting were the grammatical errors in the answers of my Astronomy students and their written lab reports. We needed to know they understood the physics, but it was also important to ME that they be literate, and thus have a good shot at beginning their lives in the best way possible. Articles in the Washington Post, Forbes, and The Huffington Post that recounted horror stories from HR managers doing interviews with 2 equally-qualified candidates but the job going to the one that didn’t include illiterate mistakes in their cover letter finally convinced my students at just how important it was to know that the social media attitude of “who cares, can’t you get a REAL life?” isn’t good for your future; to know that you don’t use apostrophes when writing Wednesdays (plural), or DVDs; to know the difference between to/too and so many others.
As you can see you’ve quite impressed me. There’s just too many wonderful points to mention from this, so I’ll finish by saying it’s evident that you are highly intelligent and educated, and because of that alone, you can take any potentially mundane topic and spin tales of silk; you can begin with cotton thread and finish with organza. So keep representing CSNW in that beautiful light that touches those extraordinary chimpanzee peoples.
And we’ll keep coming back to be swept away.
Cheers. (Apologies for the length. I’ve never been accused of brevity. 😀 )
Um, wouldn’t that be chimpanzee people and not peoples? 🙂
Great narrative and photos Anthony! I too (oops, is that the right to) 🙂 love “everything the light touches is theirs”.
Um, it’s called being CHEEKY.
And yes, that’s the correct too.
Thanks, Chris! I can’t take all the credit for that (see: The Lion King) but I am glad that you liked the post.
I posted a comment to this last night but now it’s nowhere to be found. I cleared the cache and even forced the site to load from the server, and it’s not here. I know it was on the long side, but I *did* make it on topic. I don’t understand, but guess I need to apologise? 🙁
There’s no need to apologize, Carla! I am not sure which comment you are referring to. Was it the one about writing styles and grammar? I just checked to make sure that all the comments are visible, so we apologize if there was another that was lost in the shuffle.
Thank you for the compliment, by the way, but I hope you also enjoy the posts when the grammar is less than perfect. This staff here is amazingly skilled, experienced and educated and we all have unique perspectives on life at the sanctuary, so the posts will vary in style from day to day. Thank you for following along!
When you look at comments and yours has been counted but isn’t visible, just hit the “refresh”, and it should appear. Don’t know why it happens that way, but it does (explains why, in the past, I double-posted comments).
Anthony… the paintbrush of your words is vivid… you express your thoughts so well. I second what Kathleen said about envisioning a graphic/poster with “Everything the light touches is theirs… “
Thanks, Judy!