Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Elizabeth

It’s Good to Be the Queen

by

People are often surprised to learn that Negra is kind of a powerhouse of personality. Yes, she’s the grandma of the group, and yes, she has an endearingly sweet face, but Negra is a force to be reckoned with. She knows what she wants, and she sees no reason why she should have to wait. Negra is not the leader of the Cle Elum Seven (Jamie would be horrified to hear me even suggest such a thing), but she has her own kind of power. Perhaps because she’s the oldest, or maybe just because of her supreme confidence, Negra is universally respected. There’s a good reason we call her the Queen!

When Negra wants to be groomed, she will walk up to one of the other chimpanzees and plant herself down unceremoniously in front of them. The message is always received; I can’t think of a single time this strategy hasn’t worked for her. If Negra wants to be groomed, Negra will be groomed. Even boss Jamie can’t say no.

web_Negra_Jamie_groom_deck_GH_ek_IMG_0208

web_Negra_Jamie_groom_deck_GH_ek_IMG_0209

web_Negra_Jamie_groom_look_toward_camera_GH_ek_IMG_0210

Second Thoughts

by

Jody sometimes showers her caregivers with a mouthful of water. She has this hobby in common with many other captive chimpanzees, who often find creative ways to express themselves.

Jody fills her mouth up with water at one of the wall-mounted water spigots in the chimps’ enclosure, and holds onto it for awhile, mouth bulging, apparently waiting for the perfect time to let it fly. But sometimes, we caregivers are spared when Jody seems to have second thoughts. Maybe she’s waited so long with the mouthful of water that she can’t remember why exactly she felt such an urgent need to spit it in the first place. Maybe she just decides we’re not worth the effort. In these instances, she dips her head down slightly and lets the water fall gently from her mouth in a perfect stream.

web_Jody_spit_water_in_stream_blurry_GH_ek_IMG_9858

Scale

by

We tend to use the zoom lens when taking photos of the chimpanzees on Young’s Hill. This allows for a close-up view of the chimps, but doesn’t give much of a sense of what it’s like to see the chimps on two acres of land. Some of my favorite photos are those in which the chimps are just specks on the larger landscape.

Foxie and Missy:

web_Missy_Foxie_steal_dora_skywalk_YH_jb_IMG_5582

Jamie, Missy, and Jody:

web_multiple_chimps_shaky_bridge_enrichment_structure_yh_jb_IMG_9769

Jamie:

web_Jamie_log_bridge_YH_farm_in_background_jb_IMG_7284

Negra:

web_Negra_sit_YH_ek_IMG_7988

Missy and Foxie:

web_foxie_missy_sit_dora_shaky_bridge_bamboo_fall_yh_IMG_5002

Jamie:

web_Jamie_bipedal_top_of_YH_smoke_masatash_fire_jb_IMG_3886

The Queen Gets Some Fresh Air

by

Most of the chimpanzees think being outside on Young’s Hill is worth tolerating some less than ideal weather conditions. Jamie even went for a perimeter walk in the rain recently.

But Negra has her standards. If the weather is less than perfect in any way, she wants no part of the outdoors. Luckily, today is beautiful and Negra was happy to participate in the lunch forage on Young’s Hill.

web_Negra_food_in_mouth_lunch_forage_YH_ek_IMG_8011

web_Negra_stand_YH_ek_IMG_8000

web_Negra_walk_stuff_food_in_mouth_lunch_forage_YH_ek_IMG_8021

web_Negra_sit_hold_food_lunch_forage_YH_ek_IMG_8005

web_Negra_sit_eat_food_lunch_forage_YH_ek_IMG_7986

web_Negra_sit_YH_ek_IMG_7990

web_Negra_sit_YH_ek_IMG_8009

web_Negra_sit_look_at_camera_YH_ek_IMG_8007

Here Comes the Sun

by

We had a cold, snowy, gray February here in Cle Elum – not the kind of weather these chimpanzees appreciate. So we’re all thrilled that spring is imminent. The skies are blue again, the sun is out, and the temperatures are mild.

The weather was so beautiful as I was driving to the sanctuary this morning that I decided we’d try to set up a breakfast forage on Young’s Hill for the chimps. But soon a cool wind picked up, so we opted for the sunny and warm greenhouse instead. The chimps thought this was a great idea.

Burrito:

web_Burrito_breakfast_forage_eat_hold_chow_food_look_at_camera_GH_ek_IMG_9631

Annie:

web_Annie_breakfast_forage_sit_on_tire_hold_apples_food_GH_ek_IMG_9610

Missy:

web_Missy_GH_ek_IMG_9659

web_Missy_breakfast_forage_food_in_mouth_GH_ek_IMG_9660

Foxie:

web_Foxie_breakfast_forage_hold_eat_food_GH_ek_IMG_9616

Negra:

web_Negra_look_toward_camera_GH_ek_IMG_9628

web_Negra_profile_GH_ek_IMG_9639

Jody:

web_Jody_drooped_lip_GH_ek_IMG_9663

Foxie and Her Trolls: A History

by

When Foxie first came to the sanctuary about five and a half years ago, she took her time getting adjusted to her new home. She didn’t fully trust her caregivers right away, and she didn’t want anything to do with the enrichment that was offered to her.

About a month after the chimpanzees’ arrival, Diana came across a troll doll at a secondhand shop and grabbed it, thinking it might make good chimp enrichment. That troll doll was destined to change Foxie’s life. (You can see one of the very first photos taken of Foxie and her new friend in this early blog post.)

Trixie (the doll stuck by Foxie’s side for so long that the staff eventually gave her a name) was well-loved and soon the staff put out a call for more troll dolls. People responded, and here is Foxie’s collection today:

web_IMG_7704

Foxie’s favorite doll changes frequently; recently, it’s been this tiny fuzzy orange one. Who knows what we’ll see her carrying next week?

web_Foxie_sit_hold_troll_look_at_camera_toy_enrichment_doll_PR_ek_IMG_7670

web_Foxie_sit_hold_Dora_bite_troll_look_at_camera_toy_enrichment_doll_PR_ek_IMG_7682

web_Foxie_lie_down_tiny_troll_in_mouth_toy_enrichment_doll_look_at_camera_PR_ek_IMG_7694