Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
I was going through today’s photos of the chimpanzees, and these two stood out to me. It’s not uncommon to see Jamie looking confident and relaxed; as the leader of the group, she has every reason to be confident.
But I love that Annie, who’s at the bottom of the social hierarchy, looks just as calm and content. Though Annie’s low-ranking position in the group brings with it a certain amount of stress, she is finding more and more moments of peace as the years go by.
It may be a new year, but Annie and Missy spent their morning in a good old-fashioned play session.
Today is sunny but very cold in Cle Elum – tonight’s low is predicted to be 0 degrees Fahrenheit – and the chimpanzees are having a quiet afternoon in the warm playroom. Here are our favorite photos from the day; let us know which is your favorite!
Negra in her nest:
Missy checking out the blanket fort built by caregiver Keri:
Foxie carrying the remnants of a wooden spoon that she broke earlier in the day:
Jody with green lips after munching on an alfalfa cube:
Burrito searching the playroom for leftover food after lunch:
Annie grooming her arm and basking in the sun:
Jamie looking peaceful:
The chimpanzees access Young’s Hill, their two-acre outdoor habitat, through a doorway in the greenhouse. Missy is sitting in front of that door in this photo:
During the day, the chimpanzees spend a lot of time in front of this doorway looking out toward the hill. I think as much as they like being outside, they like the possibility of being outside almost as much. Today I caught some of the chimps taking turns sitting in the doorway and considering the possibilities.
Missy:
Jody:
Annie:
Foxie has an interesting relationship with her dolls. She almost always carries at least one with her, and we wouldn’t think of putting out the enrichment for the day and not including a handful (or several handfuls) of trolls and Doras. As much as Foxie likes having her dolls with her, she also doesn’t mind being separated from them – temporarily. She’ll toss one to a caregiver, or Jamie will swipe one to entice Foxie into a game of keep-away. But Foxie almost always reaches a point where enough is enough and she wants her “baby” back.
Today a Dora doll was stuck in a toy and Foxie was determined to get it out.
After awhile, Foxie had had enough and grew increasingly upset. With one final pull, she freed Dora, and then screamed at the offending toy for good measure.
Today Missy was combing her hair and I grabbed the camera and took a series of photos. They all turned out blurry and dark. Here are a few of the better ones:
On a typical day, we take dozens of photos of the chimpanzees. The vast majority of these are deleted. Our photos have improved in quality by leaps and bounds over the last six years – partly due to better camera equipment and partly due to practice – but I would say that 90% of the photos we take on a given day are pretty bad. They’re blurry or the lighting is poor or someone’s eyes are closed. The chimps themselves often don’t help matters either. They love to spend their time high off the ground and in other places that we photographers just don’t have easy access to.
Negra’s favorite spot is in front of this window on the playroom catwalk. Because of the light coming in from the window, she is usually backlit. She is also typically covered up in a blanket. Not great photo conditions.
This is the only line of sight to Jody’s preferred spot:
The playroom loft is another favorite of the chimpanzees. Here’s Annie kicking back, well out of camera range.
In the greenhouse, the chimps love to hang out on the highest platform. This photo of Jamie is a pretty good depiction of how much we can see of them when they’re up there:
And certain folks rarely sit still long enough for us to get a clear photo:
I know it’s best to avoid speaking in absolutes, but I believe it is actually impossible not to love Burrito. He’s a blustery, macho male chimpanzee with equal parts little boy charm. For all his swagger, he has a certain vulnerability that is so endearing.
