Each spring we wait for the hill to reach “peak greenness.” Today we might have hit that marker! All this neon makes a chimpanzee’s dark hair really stand out.
Annie:
Jamie, Burrito, Foxie:
Missy:
Negra:
The long game
Missy and Annie often play a long morning game of chase on Young’s Hill. This game isn’t always so obvious to the observer because it involves them each taking long breaks on opposing structures, where they seem to be doing their own thing. However, with just a flicker of communication between the two of them, the game resumes periodically, and usually ends with one racing the other back into the greenhouse.
This morning we got a nice rain storm at the sanctuary, so the ground was soaked when the chimps made there way out onto the hill. Annie and Missy’s game seemed to also include touching the earth as little as possible.
Annie spent a lot of time bipedal so she only had to touch wet grass with as few limbs as possible.
Until she could get off the ground..
Missy moved from structure to structure in her own style:
Annie wasn’t adverse to drinking the new moisture:
The chimps moved up the hill with Annie finding another playmate for a brief game of this terrifying (to human eyes) game of chase and wrestle:
That’s Foxie’s brow ridge you can barely see poking up from the platform below:
Meanwhile Missy investigated the wild plants to see if anything was worth eating:
But here comes Annie!
They reconvened on the logs before racing to the newest structure!
Then more wrestling was on the agenda:
A quick stop at the final platform before it was time to run inside. Somehow Missy knows how to get those short little legs to move at astonishing speeds 🙂
A cabin built for her
Happiness is watching Negra enjoy some quiet time under the shelter lovingly named “Negra’s Cabin.” The cabin was designed with her comfort especially in mind.
Negra isn’t quite as adventurous a forager as Jody, but she enjoys her fair share of browse. This morning she found a Ponderosa pine tree bough in the cabin and carefully took it back to the greenhouse for further consumption.
An early heat wave
The summer heat has arrived a little early this year (for at least the moment). We are supposed to spike into the mid 80’s this afternoon, which seems unusual for May in Central Washington! To keep cool, the chimps move to lower spots around the sanctuary, spread their limbs wide, and melt into relaxation poses. Jamie asked for frequent drinks from the hose during our morning cleaning routine, and even Negra took a few sips from the hose that Katelyn offered her. The chimps have constant access to water spigots, but seem to really enjoy that special hose drink. Purely coincidentally, tonight’s evening enrichment food puzzle involves ice!
Annie has been maintaining this horizontal lounge position all day long:
Conveniently, grooming with Missy can also be done without getting up!
Despite the heat, Katelyn caught Negra cuddling with this little stuffed toy this morning. We jokingly consider it her sponge to mop up brow sweat 🙂
New enrichment puzzle on Young’s Hill!
Intern caregiver Grace came up with this cool new enrichment puzzle for the chimps! This bag was originally a slow feeder bag for horses, but to make it into a chimp puzzle, we added fresh vegetables (in addition to hay), locked it closed, and hung it on Young’s Hill! Thanks to Grace for her brilliant idea, our supporters for purchasing everything we ever dream up on our Amazon Wish list, and JB for making it all come together today!
Boot and Barrel
We always know that Jamie is pretty relaxed and happy when we find her laying on her back on top of one of the plastic barrels in the chimps’ enclosure. Yesterday, she chose to wear one of her favorite boots and admire it while she took it easy next to the breezy barn doors.
Journey to the top of the hill
The time of the year has come where Negra climbs out of her cozy bed…
And heads for the hills!
The hills full of freshly sprouted wild prickly lettuce that is..
Today, many of the chimps joined Negra in her hunt for wild plants. Jody found an assortment of weeds.
And harvested a piece of a newly planted Christmas tree.
But it was Negra who spent the most time this morning, eating handful after handful of her beloved wild lettuce.
Cheers to a blissfully lovely spring!
