We made it a day dedicated to Foxie’s favorites: more fruit than normal (Foxie has a sweet tooth), including fruit smoothie for EVERY meal! Mini watermelon salad bowls and tons of new dolls were the highlight of her brunch party. Thanks to donors, volunteers, and staff for all contributing to make Foxie’s birthday a fabulous event!
Charming, then wild, then back to charming again
Burrito is a chimpanzee that’s packed with charisma and charm. He’s a guy that’s easy to get to know and love, whether you’ve actually had the pleasure of meeting him in person or not. He is equal parts playful friend and boisterous fight instigator. Not even five minutes after these photos were taken of him relaxing casually, he was pushing a table across the playroom causing the girls to scatter in his wake, and five minutes after his display he was playing tug-o-war with a caregiver. Creating chaos is part of daily life for a male chimpanzee and Burrito is not immune to such urges.
That one!
Foxie has a ton of dolls to choose from, and when she sees the next one she wants, it’s out with the old, in with the new! For now…
Highly prized
There are a few foods that a lot of caregivers mildly dread serving to the chimpanzees. One of these foods is corn on the cob. Corn is a hot commodity for the chimps and with its distinguished deliciousness, comes a wave of competitive desire from a few of the dominant individuals (namely Jamie and Jody) to try and steal as many pieces of corn as possible from the other chimps. This as you might imagine, is not seen as a popular tactic and can cause chaos and screams to ring through the sanctuary. We rarely serve whole pieces of corn any more because it causes so much drama, and instead will break the cobs in half, or cut them into many tiny pieces for play room forages. Today however, we decided to spread whole corn far and wide out on Young’s Hill. There is something about having all that extra space for foraging out on the hill that the chimps seem genuinely satisfied and lose a little bit of that competitive tension.
Of course there are some chimps that are a bit more successful…
Jody:
Negra seemed so pleased with her one large corn that she headed right back inside with it to enjoy:
Burrito needed a lot of reassurance from Foxie because he was so thrilled (note how “fluffy” he looks with his hair standing on end). Foxie was perfectly happy to pick up a bunch of primate chow that we also scattered with the corn.
Jamie and Missy were moving and eating quickly, but I promise they got lots of lunch too!
Pea tendrils
It’s that time of year again! The snap peas were nearing the end of their season in the chimpanzees’ garden, so this morning we pulled up the vines and gave the entire plants to the chimpanzees for browse. The chimps like to suck all of the juices out of the tougher vegetation and spit out the fibrous parts. I’m expecting to find a great deal of wadged pea tendrils when we clean tomorrow.
Similar tastes
Sanctuary, seven ways
Sanctuary means different things for the seven chimpanzee individuals that live in Cle Elum, Washington.
Negra’s sanctuary lies in the solitude and comfort of a giant nest:
And sometimes the chance to peacefully pick wild greens on Young’s Hill
Jody finds sanctuary in the company of others:
If Annie had to spell sanctuary, she would spell it M-I-S-S-Y:
Missy’s sanctuary is all about movement!
Jamie’s sanctuary is filled with cowboy boots:
Burrito’s sanctuary needs to be delicious:
Foxie’s sanctuary wouldn’t be complete without dolls: