Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Debbie

Photos from Foxie’s birthday party!

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It’s Foxie’s 35th birthday today! And we decided to celebrate by creating a huge troll bonanza for the troll-loving lady. We literally put out at least a hundred new trolls, most of which participated in last week’s Troll Olympics.

Here’s a few pictures from the day, tomorrow I’ll post some video from the party!

Some of the trolls in the sandbox:

Foxie picked out a couple of her favorites:

Troll blanket, found and troll-adorned by volunteer Jeani:

Foxie checking out the troll blanket:

We hung some frozen watermelon from the ceiling in the outdoor area, which the chimps really loved. Foxie eating her watermelon:

Jody munching on some watermelon:

More to come tomorrow!

Grooming Missy

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Missy is such an avid groomer. On a quiet afternoon, we usually catch her grooming somebody. It’s nice to get groomed in return, though, and here’s some pictures of that.

Annie grooming Missy’s hand

Burrito grooming Missy’s face

Chimps using tools

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Chimpanzees naturally use tools in free-living Africa. One common example of tool use is “ant fishing” or “termite fishing” — when a chimpanzee takes a stick and dips it into an ant or termite mound to gather up some tasty insects. At CSNW, we have a simulated termite board which we fill with things captive chimpanzees enjoy, such as fruit puree or peanut butter.

As part of our sanctuary philosophy, we strive to allow for “species specific” chimpanzee behavior. This can involve providing adequate space and climbing structures for a natural behavior like brachiation, and it can also include providing enrichment that allows them to use their instinctual chimp behaviors, such as nesting or tool use.

The other day, Jackie and I presented the chimpanzees with a puzzle: how to get drinks from buckets outside the caging. They quickly grabbed hoses to use for tools, as you’ll see in the video.

Garden enrichment

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Jackie has been working pretty diligently on the best enrichment of all — the garden. It’s really great for the chimps to watch the plants grow, see us harvest their food, and then of course get to enjoy the delicious fresh produce! I have been helping her, too. Here’s us sifting the compost which we use as a growing medium for the plants. Just like Jackie said the other day, recycling at it’s finest!

Here is the view of the garden from the south side of the chimp house:

And here are some of our fruits and veggies that are doing great! Broccoli, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and strawberries.

The chimps particularly like the fresh strawberries!

Annie:

Negra:

Missy eating a strawberry while Foxie laughs to get Jackie’s attention: