Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
It seems that Foxie is upside down as often as she’s right side up. She loves to climb to the ceiling of the Greenhouse and hang by her feet, and she often swings on the fire hoses as through they’re trapezes. Today, she has carried around this plastic frying pan in her mouth for much of the day, and didn’t even put it down for her acrobatics.
If there’s one chimpanzee who plays the role of peacemaker in the group, it’s Foxie. It seems to be her personal ambition to make sure everyone is getting along. During conflicts, she often runs around and tries to calm everyone down. You could say she’s a bit of a chimp whisperer.
So it’s not surprising that she’s a preferred play partner for a lot of the chimps. If Jamie or Burrito are looking for some fun, it’s almost always Foxie who they’ll seek out. (Burrito has the problem of being a little intimidated by almost everyone else in the group, and Jamie has the problem of almost everyone else in the group being a little intimidated by her.)
Diana got some footage of Foxie working her magic with Burrito and Negra (who doesn’t play very much with anyone due to being somewhat of an old lady) this weekend while the chimps were waiting for the humans to finish cleaning the playroom.
On an unrelated note, thanks so much to everyone who came out for Sippin’ for the Seven last night. You can see photos from the event here. And bidding for our online auction is open until Tuesday, so be sure to check out the items and get your bids in!
Caregiver Debbie recently ordered a new food puzzle for the chimpanzees. She just got one of them for now so we could make sure it was chimp-proof (safe and sturdy) and up to Jamie’s standards. Since Jamie’s mind is always three steps ahead, she’s hard to keep enriched. One of our daily priorities is finding projects and puzzles that challenge or entertain her. If something keeps her occupied for a few minutes, we consider it a success!
The new food puzzle was a success, as you’ll see in this video.
Today we conclude our series of blog posts on chimpanzee identification with Negra. (If you missed the posts about Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, or Missy, click on their names.)
Negra is the oldest of the chimps at the sanctuary, and because of her wise and regal air, we call her our Queen. Negra has a mostly dark face with white freckles on her chin and in her ears:
She is missing the top half of her left ear:
She has more bottom lip than she knows what to do with:
She’s a big lady with an ample belly:
Here you can see how her girth compares with Jody’s:
She loves to relax with a blanket draped over her head:
And she worships the sun:
At Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest we take parties pretty seriously, and on this day, we have two occasions to celebrate: Halloween and Jamie’s 36th birthday. Consequently, we went a little wild with the festivities today.
The chimpanzees are lucky to have some really great friends, and today we want to thank three of them in particular for making the day so special. Supporter Jayne Roepke mailed us several boxes full of the most fun and creative enrichment for today’s party (and treated the chimps to some delicious and festive party food!); Lisa Stuverud sponsored today in Jamie’s honor; and volunteer caregiver Stephanie brought some more party decorations, food, and enrichment, including this hand-carved birthday/Halloween pumpkin:
The pumpkin was the star of the show, as you’ll see in the video below. But first, some photos of the party this morning.
Negra with a gift bag:
and with a chunk of the giant pumpkin:
Jody enjoying some cran-pomegranate juice:
and deconstructing one of the cute ghost pinatas that Jayne sent:
Jody also loved the giant pumpkin:
Foxie with the giant pumpkin (are you sensing a theme?):
Burrito taking a brief break from foraging:
Annie drinking some juice:
And if you’re wondering about Jamie, the birthday girl, she thoroughly enjoyed the festivities. Here she is looking cool with a party straw:
foraging for berries:
inspecting some new presents:
and treating herself to a “martini”:
One of the highlights of the day was watching the chimps dig into the pumpkin. They all eventually had their turns at it, but Negra was the first to enjoy the spoils.
If you’re signed up to receive our e-newsletter, you know that we’re holding a competition to see which chimpanzee can get the most Chimpanzee Pals by the end of the year. Wish Jamie a happy 36th birthday by signing up to be her Pal today!
Happy Jamieween, everyone!
It’s chilly, gray, and rainy in Cle Elum today, and the chimpanzees are cozying up in the warm playroom. (This doesn’t include Jamie, who is keeping volunteer caregiver Stephanie busy walking around and around Young’s Hill. When the boss beckons, you listen.) Negra would rather stay indoors on a day like this, and I don’t blame her.
We’re continuing our series of blog posts on chimpanzee identification today with Missy. (If you missed the posts about Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, or Jody, click on their names.)
Missy is the resident athlete and daredevil, and she usually looks like this:
or like this:
If you catch her in a still moment, you’ll notice that she has a white chin and a distinctive white splotch on the left side of her face above her lip:
She has a short, stocky body. Here you can see that she’s significantly smaller than Jamie:
and Jody:
Missy doesn’t have much of a neck; sometimes it looks like her head sits right on her shoulders:
And of course, she’s often playing with her best friend Annie:
