Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

Anna

Building friendships

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If you’ve been following along with our latest round of introductions, we’ve had some ups and downs in the process. Despite a few setbacks, the chimpanzees and their caregivers have bravely forged ahead, trying and retrying different small configurations of the groups so they can continue to build (or rebuild) relationships.

We continue the intro process so the chimps can share moments together like today’s lengthy play session between Rayne and Honey B.  The two of them had another raucous play date in the front rooms this afternoon. It’s our hope that this is just one of many joy filled moments that the two get to share together.

Be sure to bid on the note card sets featuring photos of Rayne, Honey B and the rest of their group mates. You can check them out on our Hoot! online auction, happening right now!

Raisins and Magazines

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Yesterday I watched Cy’s group put on a dramatic display around their playroom just before lunch. This isn’t unusual, as chimps do daily dominance displays. What I found amusing about this particular show of passion, was that in the middle of all the chaos, plastic barrels getting thrown around the enclosure and pant hoots echoing off the wall, sat Cy.  He was completely calm and absolutely enthralled with his latest magazine. The same thing happened this morning as most of the chimps investigated a food puzzle. As you will see in the video, Cy had better ideas.

An assortment of moments

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We’re taking another break from intros until next week which means it’s been a laid back kinda afternoon at the sanctuary. Sometimes in can actually be pretty nice when there’s no major significant event to note about a day.

Burrito spying on the kitchen crew.
Gordo has found a new prime spot he likes to relax at the end of the chute.
Honey B, just before she broke out in a run.
Lucky with good lighting 🙂
The always magnificent Mave

 

Pumpkin Spice (without the spice)

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Pumpkin seeds are a regular part of the chimps’ diets. Earlier this summer we noticed that several seeds had gone unnoticed and sprouted into full pumpkin plants on the grassy floor of Greenhouse 2. We’ve been admiring the vines’ growth as they’ve spread out and blossomed remarkably well.  Also to our amazement, the chimpanzees have been ignoring the foliage (if Jody’s group lived there we are certain the plants would never have made it this far).

However, as Sam reminded me the other day, pumpkin spice season has already begun. Almost on cue with the yearly debut of the autumn flavored latte, we caught Gordo and Dora snacking on pumpkin leaves in Greenhouse 2 this morning. Perhaps this is a trendy new way to enjoy an old seasonal favorite?

Dora (in a box):

Gordo:

Drowsy Thursday

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Yesterday we concluded the first round of one on one introductions so today we took another break from all the afternoon action. We have a flexible plan for slowly moving forward with introductions, focusing on who needs more time together in one on one situations and who can meet together in slightly larger two on two intros.  As we’ve hopefully expressed before, intros are exciting but stressful for the chimps as well as the caregivers. It was nice to take a moment to breath and think about other projects that need to be worked on around here.

For Dora, Rayne and Negra, napping was at the top of their to do list this afternoon.  Just try not to be too jealous as you look at these photos.

Dora:

Negra:

Rayne’s descent into snoozeville :

 

I spy, an I.D. challenge

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We took a timeout from intros today and enjoyed a relatively ordinary day at the sanctuary. This afternoon I went to take some photos of Cy’s group who were mostly all posted up in the higher levels of Greenhouse 2. I took a few photos of them hanging out on the platforms:

Cy in a serious moment 
Rayne on the top platform
Terry finishing up his lunch (eggplant)

Then I spotted a mysterious dark silhouette through the caging…. This chimpanzee spy was posted at the bottom of Young’s Hill and was ogling the greenhouse residents…I snapped a photo that I’m about to show you. Can you identify this person, just from a blurry outline? I’ll post the answer to my pop quiz at the bottom of this blog.

Guess who?

Bonus photos! While you think about the answer to my ID test.

Dora foot and hands!

Mave!

Ok! Drumroll please…… The spy’s identity is:

Annie!

 

 

 

Special spots

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This afternoon I found Jody relaxing in one of her favorite summer spots, the bottom platform of Greenhouse 1. I have seen her in this pose (with her arm up on the next platform above) more than I can count.

Jody loves to use the upper deck of the greenhouse as her personal table. We’ve captured the moment many times throughout the years:

Just as you probably have a preferred side of my couch or a designated spot at the dinner table, the chimps all seem to have favorite places they spend their time.  Their preferences change with weather, season and time of day.

Honey B in one of her commonly found spots in the chute.
Negra in her usual Greenhouse nest.
Upside down Jamie on her barrel. The best spot to casually monitor the humans from Playroom 1.
Gordo has already decided he enjoys the doorways that go out to the greenhouses.