Negra in all her afternoon glory! Which do you prefer, traditional or black and white?
Negra’s prize
This morning when I opened the door to Young’s Hill for the chimps, the group filed out together to check on their 2 acre outdoor enclosure. Negra, who often goes back to bed after breakfast (instead of exploring), headed outside with everyone else. She found a perch on the nearest platform and was clearly watching the construction workers. Things have been a bit noisy lately as they have moved on from the masonry to putting in the ceiling rafters (quite a bit of thumping and bumping sounds are happening on the kitchen roof). There is a lot of activity to be curious about!
Perhaps she had an ulterior motive all along when she went outside, because she happened to snag a leftover sunflower and carried it back to her nest. Nothing signifies the end of summer quite like the lovely sunflower.
Party cleanup committee
Yesterday we threw a big party on Young’s Hill for Annie’s 44th birthday! The chimps were filled to the brim with all kinds of delicious foods, so much so, that there were still some leftovers deemed worthy by some adventurous foragers this morning.
Annie found what at first glance looked like a leftover banana leaf:
Upon further examination, it turned out to be the outermost skin of a watermelon rind.
Annie was more than happy to clean up after her own party
Jody found several remaining sunflowers to snack on as well:
Again today, Negra reaped some of the benefits of Jody’s hard work. I snapped this photo of her through the playroom window while we were cleaning this morning. 
Way back Wednesday
I thought it would be fun to do a little flashback post and revisit some old blog posts in a game I am now calling “On this day in Sanctuary History.”
September 5, 2008:
Apparently Missy was playing a lively game of chase in the greenhouse with the sanctuary’s founder Keith! Check it out here! It’s really fun to see how far the sanctuary has come since this day (including better video cameras).
On September 5, 2009, Diana was getting ready for another auction. This auction featured the famous “Negra in the Sun” painting by good friend of the sanctuary, Margaret Parkinson.
September 5, 2010:
Jamie participated in the cleaning process
September 5, 2011:
Staff caregiver Debbie compared Annie to a famous friend of hers.
September 5, 2012:
We were recovering and full of gratitude after the Taylor Bridge Fire.
September 5, 2013:
The chimps love the nature around them!
September 5, 2014:
Two chimpanzees that share the same mannerism.
September 5, 2015:
A little lesson on chimpanzee behavior.
September 5, 2016:
Burrito celebrated Labor Day!
September 5, 2017:
Missy showed enthusiasm for her favorite food!
September 5, 2018 (Today!):
Jamie has her caregivers walking lots of laps so she can keep her eye on the new construction. The masons are busy laying the cement block walls that will be the future areas for introduction and quarantine space.
Nesting with Annie
There is a special joy you feel when you catch a chimpanzee happily nesting with a gigantic pile of blankets. No one is a happier nester than Annie Chimpanzee. She does a rhythmic seated shuffle while she builds her nest around her body, then she lays down to check her comfort level. Then she adds additional padding where necessary, all with a little bounce in her feet.
Cool mornings and interesting guests!
We’ve had some lovely (almost fall-like) cool mornings lately. This crisp air makes it prime time for exploring the great expanse that is Young’s Hill.
Annie and Foxie headed for the newest structure we are calling “The Escher.” They have no qualms about climbing to the top.
In fact, Annie took “top” to the whole next level!
Today, we had a visit from some of the firefighters from our local fire district. They have all been taking turns visiting on their shifts and getting the lay of our property and buildings. JB gave them a tour of the buildings, but Jamie had to lead the tour of the property.
Just one thing was required first:
This is Jamie expression as she watched her guest try on her current favorite boot. Notice the pilo-erect hair and intense look on her face -this is one excited chimpanzee! :
Dr. Missy
As you may already know, chimpanzees groom each other for both socialization and hygiene. They keep diligent track of any injury their friends have sustained and are always on hand to squeeze, prod, pick at, or even gently bite an offending wound. This does a pretty good job of keeping things open and clean. At the sanctuary, no one is more dedicated to the job of wound groomer than Missy Chimpanzee (AKA Dr. Missy).
Last week we had to do a quick surgical procedure to stitch Jody’s partially detached eyelid back together. She continues to recover and improve, but as an added precaution to make sure she heals smoothly (and gets to keep her stitches as long as possible), we separated her again from the group yesterday evening. Dr. Missy will need to wait a bit longer before she can do some serious grooming.
The doctor in action:
