We recently introduced the chimps to their newest food puzzle, these giant firehose cubes! Volunteers stuffed all 6 pockets on the cubes with a variety of enrichment and hidden treats for them to find, and we put them out as part of a playroom forage. Jessica Mayhew (who wears many hats as CSNW board member/ caregiver volunteer/Central Washington University professor) had her class assemble these puzzles for us to use for many years to come. Many thanks to Jessica and the students in the spring quarter “Apes” class at CWU!
“Me time”
We often talk about how Foxie is a good friend to all the chimpanzees in her group. She keeps the peace and gets a playfulness out of her companions like no one else can. I would imagine that having so much social responsibility must be taxing, because she also seems to enjoy her alone time, particularly when she goes on a solo mission on Young’s Hill. Of course, she isn’t entirely “solo” on these adventures. There is almost always a prized doll close at hand to keep her company.
A spotlight on Negra
Negra Chimpanzee, AKA The Queen
Age: 45
Favorite foods: Peanuts, primate chow, baked sweet potatoes, bread on her birthday 🙂
BFF: Missy? It’s hard to pick because Negra is more on the independent side.
Special talents: Making big comfy nests, staying out of the drama
Favorite place to nap: Up high in a sun spot
Favorite activities: Napping, eating wild prickly lettuce on Young’s Hill in the spring, watching the valley below the sanctuary
Favorite food puzzle: Peanut butter smeared on magazines
Anticipation play!
Sometimes the chimps are most playful when they are anticipating something excellent! Missy grabbed hold of her best friend Annie when she saw us putting out a tomato forage yesterday!
Moments with Missy
We have tendency to collect short clips of the chimps that can’t quite act as stand alone videos. Today felt like the right time to make a compilation of the adventures of Missy Chimpanzee (taken from the last couple of weeks).
The Sentry
If you feel like you’re being watched when you arrive at the sanctuary, it’s because you definitely are. No one is more on the alert than Jamie Chimpanzee. She knows when the UPS truck has arrived (long before we hear the doorbell ring). She knows when someone is feeding the cows on the neighboring property, and she definitely knows when we have welders arrive whose boots haven’t been properly inspected by her yet.
That time again…
The season of grass snacking has begun! Yesterday afternoon, Elizabeth and I caught Negra sitting on the Young’s Hill picking handful after handful. It’s a little early for the full bounty of wild plants to appear, so we still get to look forward to the time when we find her further up the hill, picking mouthfuls of prickly lettuce. This morning the Queen wandered outside, just so she could take in the view from her usual outdoor platform. We can’t get enough!
