Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Chad de Bree

A Window to New Friendships

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Introductions between Cy and Willy B’s groups have been progressing along. Today we decided to do something new and different. There are panels between the two greenhouses that provide a visual barrier between the two groups. We removed one of the panels so the two groups can now see and safely interact with each through this portal.

When the groups were given access their greenhouses, Lucky and Rayne were the first ones to notice. Rayne waited around the portal for some time, but nobody showed up. It took a while for Willy B and Mave to realize there was a panel missing. As with new things, a lot of excitement can happen. Usually a lot of screaming and displaying. Surprisingly, there wasn’t as much as we expected. There was mostly positive interactions.

The paneling is located on the second story of the greenhouses, so getting photos up there is almost impossible especially in the winter when the outside paneling is up to keep the chimpanzees warm. I was able to catch a couple of photos from the ground floor of Willy B during one of his displays.

Willy B looks at his neighbors looking at him.
He begins to work up his display with hooting.
He stands bipedally and become piloerect.
Just a blur.

Here are some bonus photos of Gordo and Cy enjoying some snow snacks!

Gordo
Cy

 

Playtime with Dora

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Dora is one of the more reserved chimps in her group. When caregivers try to get her to play, we are often rejected. But when she does accept our invitations to play, she let’s loose!

Bonus photo of Nutmeg yesterday while it was snowing!

Chimp ID: Terry

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It seems to have been a while since the last time we did a Chimp ID from the new group. So who better to pickup where we left off than with Terry!

Terry is by far the “floofiest” of the bunch. It’s took the point where sometimes we have difficulty in determining if he is piloerect, or if he’s just that fuzzy.

Cy, Gordo, and Terry. You can see the comparison here.

Terry always tries to get caregivers’ attention. You can hear Terry pretty much anywhere blowing raspberries to get some attention from caregivers. When Terry is interested in your footwear, he will blow raspberries then spit water at your boots and only your boots, which he loves to groom.

Terry grooming Sofia’s boots.

He also has a peculiar way of greeting caregivers: licking the back of our hands.

Caregiver Kelsi allows Terry to “kiss” the back of her gloved hand.

Terry is also a big fan of food!

Usually, we can often find Terry with something in his mouth. Whether that is a wadge made from the paper bags his primate chow come in or wooden blocks.

Terry is also a fan of food puzzles, especially Boomer Balls.

Terry carrying three Boomer Balls with Rayne right behind him.

Terry is just a big, lovable goofball who is extremely difficult not to love when you meet him.

We all love Terry!

Thanksgiving 2021!

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Today was filled with food! On today’s menu was Field Roast, mashed sweet potatoes, green beans, Hawaiian rolls, cranberry sauce, and even baby pineapples! Be sure to watch today’s video to see how everyone enjoyed their feast, including the Lucky Six’s first Thanksgiving celebration here!

Also enjoy these photo from today!

Burrito, Jody and Missy enjoying their baby pineapples on Young’s Hill:

And photos caregiver Anthony was able to get of Terry’s group’s celebration!

Cy, Gordo, and Terry watch as their celebration is being prepped.
Terry with fistfuls of rolls and sparkling cider.

And Mave enjoying her celebration!

All of us here hope you have a great day and holiday season!

Enjoy some bonus photos of Rayne this morning:

You Can Never Have a Case of the Mondays with this Bunch

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Today was a somewhat busy day. While we humans were making progress cleaning enclosures in the morning, we were thwarted by two holdouts by the time the afternoon rolled around. Now I won’t mention names, but…

*ahem*

*ahem*

While it’s pretty easy to work around when certain somebodies holdout, it just adds a little more time to the day. We don’t necessarily get upset about their choice to remain in certain areas we want to clean when we want to clean them because it is just that. Their choice.

During some periodic breaks during cleaning as we tried to develop our next plan of action on the fly, I was able to get these photos.

Jamie during her mid-morning walk around Young’s Hill. Annie is on top of the Twister with Missy right below her.
Foxie and Orange Blossom during her group’s afternoon patrol around Young’s Hill.
And last, but not least, Honey B in her greenhouse after lunch was served.

Hopefully these photos will bring some joy to you on your Monday.

Side Profiles

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Throughout the day, as I was taking photos, almost every photo I took seemed like a missed opportunity. The day was the perfect day for photos with the sun not too bright and slight overcast at points. But every time I released the shutter, everybody would turn their heads. It was something I initially didn’t wanted in photos, however, after reviewing what I had taken I realized I had a plethora of side profiles.

Jody on Young’s Hill during breakfast. She is wadging the peel of her breakfast banana.
Missy (right) and Annie (left) looking out onto Young’s Hill in the morning.
Cy in his greenhouse in the afternoon. I almost got a good portrait of the big fella, up until he decided he wanted to play chase conveniently right as I took the picture.
Honey B in her greenhouse soaking up the sun. She took full advantage of what sun she could get after a few days of rain and more in the forecast this week.

Luckily enough, Honey B did allow me to take a photo of her without looking away.

Rayne was the only other person who allowed me to take a capture her beautiful face without looking away.

Jamie’s Boots and a Scarecrow Murder Mystery

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Before I begin, let’s play a game! Who killed the scarecrow?

If you look closely, there is a hint. Be sure to think about it as you continue reading on. The answer will be revealed at the end!

Last week, I received a new pair of Xtra-Tuf boots. After a year and many miles put on them, holes were starting to develop in them. It is manageable though, however, after the other caregivers noticed my boots, I was convinced to finally retire those pair.

“Retire them” is a vague term however. As you may know, Jamie is a fan of the Xtra-Tuf boots. She is also a fan of what boots belong on what humans.

When I unboxed my new boots, I casually walked near the doors to Jamie’s Playroom, just to see if she would notice without any kind setup. It took her about 2 seconds to notice I was not wearing my “normal” boots. As you know, with any new boots, Jamie has to thoroughly inspect them by grooming them.

This moment lasted about two minutes. Jamie quickly determined that these boots do not belong on this human. In fact, these boots belong on any human except this one.

First, she demanded(!) Katelyn wear them around Young’s Hill with them on, not once, not twice, but three times.

Then, she demanded Katelyn take a trip around Young’s Hill (while showing them off) on the Gator with Sam as the driver.

She even wanted to really break them in by racing the Gator.

Funny story about this photo. I was behind the Gator, which Sam was driving and Katelyn was riding in wearing my boots. I was wearing my old boots because like I said, they belonged on anybody but me. I also didn’t belong in the Gator apparently.

Over the past week, she has had every other human wear them.

Jamie grooming them while Sam wears them.
Sofia wearing them around Young’s Hill with Jamie.

During my weekend, I was also informed Diana and Kelsi were told they had to wear them throughout the day.

At this point, I think it’s fair to say every human has worn them more than me. I’m not mad or upset about this. I am fully aware this is Jamie’s world and I’m just living in it. If these boots don’t belong on me, then those are the rules.

Here is a bonus photo of Missy from yesterday. As Burrito and I were running around Young’s Hill, Missy came out with a Brussels sprout stalk in her mouth. She ran the entire way with it in her mouth as if it were the Olympic Torch. As I witnessed this, I radioed Anthony to get a photo before she made her way inside. Where did it come from? The only explanation is that it was stowed away safely somewhere after Jamieween.

Have you locked in your guess who the scarecrow killer was? The person who caused this grisly scene was…

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JAMIE!!!!!

Though she also had accomplices.

Missy and Annie were Jamie’s accomplices.