Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Chad de Bree

Eat, Play, Love

by

Burrito is really such a snow fiend. His first order of business for us today was to give him his pre-breakfast snow. When he gained access to the Greenhouse and Young’s Hill, he seemed unsure if he wanted to venture outside to collect his own snow.

He then thought of the most perfect plan. He can sit in the Greenhouse, and just have his human caregivers deliver him his post-breakfast snow. That way he had access to the outdoors, but the pesky wind would be blocked by the winter paneling, and he could enjoy.

Really though! He really loves snow.

Jamie, being the Boss, also wanted to partake on the snow harvesting the humans were doing for Burrito.

As usual, Negra decided to stay inside, nice and warm, under a blanket in the Playroom.

On the other side of the Chimp House, Honey B and Mave have been in super silly moods lately. They engaged in an intense play session with tons of laughing.

Willy B was not a fan of all the noise they were causing as he was trying to take his pre-lunch nap.

Luckily for him, Honey B and Mave stopped playing and began grooming.

It’s days like today when all the chimpanzees are happy, that my day feels complete and I have a constant smile on my face.

Run with the Wind

by

The sun was out. The clouds were gone. But the wind was a force to be reckoned with. With weather forecasts predicting the winds to be in the range of 14 mph to 34 mph today, the wind could be heard all throughout the Chimp House.

When I gave the Group of 7 access to Young’s Hill, there were only a few takers to initially go out. Jamie and Foxie were the first to go out and conduct a patrol around their outdoor enclosure. As they came around to the last stretch of their patrol, both Jamie and Foxie were racing toward the Greenhouse.

Judging by Foxie’s sneer, she was not a fan of the wind and just wanted the patrol to be over with.

Missy initially watched as Jamie and Foxie began their patrol, but seemed to be at a crossroads on whether to join them or not.

But Missy is Missy, and without warning, shot out of the raceway onto Young’s Hill. So fast I was only able to lift the camera and get a somewhat blurry photo of her racing to catch up with Jamie and Foxie.

But the wind was too much for Annie. She stayed in the doorway between the Greenhouse and Young’s Hill and watched as Missy charged up the Hill.

Burrito took no time at all to make his decision: Stay in the Greenhouse and let the plexiglass paneling block the wind.

Negra decided to bypass all that. She remained in the Playroom, covered in blankets, basking in the rays of the sun through the window.

On the other side of the Chimp House, Willy B was eager to go into the Chute. He grabbed the best seat in the house so he could watch a train go by and the birds who are starting to return from their winter break.

Let’s hope this isn’t a false Spring so more outdoor adventures could be had.

Rainy Days and Poses

by

As I drove up to the sanctuary this morning, grey clouds had already gathered overhead and begun drizzling rain. When I began opening up the Chimp House, I could hear the Bronx cheers of Burrito trying to get my attention from the front rooms. The rain was starting to wash away his snowy treats that had accumulated from the previous day and he NEEDED as many snowy treats, posthaste!

After delivering Burrito his snow, I walked around to say good morning to the other chimpanzees. Most of them were still in bed, including the Boss! This is how I knew today was going to be one of those quiet days.

When I opened up Young’s Hill to the Group of 7, only Jamie and Missy were brave enough to venture out in the rain. Burrito didn’t even want to go out into the Greenhouse to watch his friends embark on their adventure. (His feelings changed later on in the day and spent the most of his day in the Greenhouse.)

It was similar on the other side of the Chimp House. Even with access to the Chute, Mave and Willy B felt it better to watch the rain from inside instead of getting a closer look from the outside.

Honey B was the only one who wanted to go out in the Chute to watch the rainfall.

This didn’t last long, however, as she felt it was too cold to stay out long. She followed suite with most of the other chimpanzees, and decided to just rest in the warm building.

All-in-all, it was a really quiet day here.

Also, I just have to share this photo I snapped earlier today. I’ve been trying to think of titles for this shot, and asked caregiver Anthony and volunteer Krissy for help. “Mave the Thinker.” “Chimp-Person of the Year.” “Mave-azine Cover Shot.” “Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Mave-belline.” “Dear Mave: An Advice Column.” “The Most Interesting Mave in the World.”

Any other suggestions?

Might As Well Play

by

The goal of the caregivers and volunteers is to clean the chimpanzees’ enclosures quickly and thoroughly. We want to ensure they have as much space as soon as it becomes available. Though there are times the chimpanzees may try to hurry us along (Jamie usually gesturing, Negra clapping, Burrito blowing Bronx cheers, etc.), there are also times they keep themselves occupied until we are finished.

Today, as we were cleaning the Playroom, Negra was especially playful in the front rooms. First, we saw her playing with Burrito. Then we saw her playing with Foxie. These play sessions lasted as soon as we saw them. Then along came Jody and a pink blanket. This play session last for quiet awhile, until Jody pulled her new move to let Negra know she she has the upper hand is done playing.

Turning the Day Around

by

I had a lot of hope for the weather after yesterday’s brief reprieve from the winter weather. As I began to drive to the sanctuary today, that hope began to dwindle. A fresh layer of snow had accumulated overnight and there were grey clouds as far as the eye could see. Earlier in the day, all my plans to shift the chimpanzees from one area to another so we could clean their enclosure was altered multiple times. The chimpanzees just refused to leave certain areas, making it harder for us to clean. I began to accept this day was just an outright bad day. Then our veterinarian Erin arrived. She came by and did a checkup on Burrito to see how his recovery was coming along. When she came back into the foyer area, she gave me the best news of the day. She determined Burrito was well enough to be reunited with his family once again!

It was at this point, the entire day turned around. The clouds had cleared up. The sun came out and melted some of the snow. And the chimpanzees began to cooperate and move into the areas we needed them to so we could clean. It sounds like I’m making this up, but believe me, it happened like this. Our incredible volunteer staff today rolled up their sleeves and really busted their bums to ensure the enclosures were cleaned quickly and thoroughly so we could reunite Burrito with the girls. When it came time, I opened the doors to reunite them and there was excitement. Foxie and Burrito almost immediately engaged in a game of chase, before settling down and starting a very long grooming session.

While Burrito and Foxie were grooming, Annie and Missy shared their excitement by engaging in a silly game of play wrestle.

When they were finished, Annie decided it was time to bask in the sun’s rays through window.

Jamie on the other hand found a new way to relax while watching her neighbors from the Playroom window.

While Jody foraged nearby.

Though today started out sort of rough, seeing Burrito back in the Playroom with the Girl Gang made every bit of today worth it.

Boss’ Bundle of Blankets

by

Jamie was playing a pretty intense game of chase with caregiver Kelsi earlier today. This game spanned all the way from the Greenhouse to the opposite end of the Playroom for quite some time. A little while later, I went around to find all the chimpanzees and found almost all inside the heated building. I was just missing one: Jamie. I went out to the Greenhouse with volunteer Krissy. It was on the top platform in the Greenhouse, both Krissy and I found this perfect bundle of blankets.

Very rarely is any human able to make any movement around the sanctuary without Jamie knowing about it. Kelsi must have really tired her out because she seemed a tiny bit surprised both Krissy and I in the human area of the Greenhouse. She acknowledged us for a second before resting here eyes again.

A few minutes later, I went back in to check on her, and she was up and ready to return to her sanctuary duty of monitoring the humans.

As I am writing this, I hear things dropping from the loft area of the Playroom and a lot of stomping. Please excuse the abrupt end to this post. The Boss is calling me.