Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Debbie

iPad project is underway

by

If you can’t tell by now, I’m pretty excited about the iPad we got from Orangutan Outreach! Thanks to Jody for the case and mount, and Shelly for the iTunes giftcard, I’ve been able to load up the iPad with tons of apps that I’m excited to see the chimps interact with. Yay!

web ipad with case jamie background

This morning, Jackie, myself, and volunteer caregivers Steph and Erin all spent awhile seeing how the chimps liked the iPad in its new case. Jody, Burrito, Foxie, and Jamie all came over to touch it and check it out (see this photo from our Facebook page).

Chimps naturally have super curious minds. When they see something new, usually their first reaction is what I sometimes call “quality control“—testing out how it works and if it’s sturdy. So, everyone who came over first tried to pick at the case (which is exactly why we wanted it in the first place!) but eventually they all showed some interest in the different apps, especially Jamie. Her favorites right now are a xylophone app, and one called “Catch the mouse” which is a game for cats! But she seems to get some enjoyment out of squishing the little mouse 🙂 Stay tuned for more updates on this really exciting project.

New iPad thanks to Apps for Apes! (and a plea for a chimp-proof case)

by

(UPDATE: Thank you Jody! We’ve got our case on the way! If you want to still support the fun iPad project—we could use some iTunes giftcards for cool apps! You can send an e-card to [email protected])

A few weeks ago, Orangutan Outreach reached out to us after seeing my blog post about wanting an iPad for Jamie (and the other chimps, too!) They have this great program called “Apps for Apes” (featured on NBC news) which has mostly been used in zoos and with orangutans. The Center for Great Apes is involved in the program and they are a sanctuary for both chimps and orangutans, but we’re the first sanctuary to be involved with only chimps. I’m really excited to see what apps they want to interact with the most! Orangutan Outreach raises awareness about orangutan conservation while also providing great enrichment for captive orangutans. Their project falls perfectly in line with what we have going on with Eyes on Apes, our advocacy group.

Here’s me (so excited!) with the iPad. I set a photo from today’s earlier blog post of Jody as the background:

web caregiver debbie hold new ipad

And here volunteer Deb and myself show Jamie and Foxie the iPad.

web caregiver deb show jamie new ipad

web jamie look at ipad

web foxie jamie look at ipad

I can’t WAIT to be able to let the chimps touch the iPad themselves. First we need to have a durable case so we can safely have it against the fencing and the chimps won’t break it 🙂

J.B. has done a bit of research and this is what we’ve decided will be the best option: Life Jacket Waterproof Case. We’d like the case as well as the extra mounting bracket which is an additional cost. If someone would be willing to donate the case, the mounting bracket, (or both!) I would be forever thankful (and so would the chimps!)

Though we don’t know for sure exactly what will happen when they’re able to interact with it themselves, I imagine based on how enriching it is just to look at, that they’ll be very interested to touch it!

Negra hangin’ out at the cabin

by

If you saw the blog the a couple weeks ago, we got pretty excited because Negra finally went into her cabin! Yesterday Jackie captured a short video of Negra sitting in her cabin. After hanging out in there for a while, she walked around it, stopped to look at Jody through the clear lexan panel, and then sat down next to it with a really sweet and content face.

web Negra sweet sit next to cabin arms crossed YH IMG_4596

Learn More about Eyes on Apes

by

EOA take action tuesday

OK, so this isn’t a real Take Action Tuesday post, but check out that spiffy new banner!

Speaking of new things, you really should go check out the Eyes on Apes website. It’s gotten a whole new makeover with an updated homepage (www.eyesonapes.org) and is chock-full of lots of great information on the Learn More pages. There’s a different page on the each issue that apes face, and they all have links throughout the bullet points—be sure to check those out. There’s some PDFs of scholarly articles and links to conservation strategies and action plans that make for really great resources. Also under the Learn More section is a page about Useful Links, and the name doesn’t lie! Lots of great info on other sites that you can check out to further your education.

I updated the Videos page too, so take a look at those… and also of this one below that we’ve put together to promote the program. Share it with your friends and get them to join Eyes on Apes and make a difference for apes everywhere!

The greatest staff meeting ever

by

Today at the end of our staff meeting, Jamie started stomping in the playroom loft. As we’ve figured out, this seems to mean “please put on one of my boots and chase me around the hill.” We thought it would be fun if we ALL played this game with her. As we all started walking out there, Jamie’s hair stood straight on end and she ran so fast out to meet us—she was so excited! It was a lot of fun, and probably the best staff meeting we’ve ever had. I think Jamie would agree.

Burrito gets a massage

by

Over the weekend Jackie and Burrito had a pretty epic play session. The whole video was over 10 minutes long, so I did my best to find the highlights. It started out as a goofy tug-o-war game until Burrito put the scarf around his back and then it became a massage session. I think he looks pretty happy: