Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Ellen Brady-McGaughey

Lucky Day

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I recently was graced with a sweet and fun play session with Lucky! See today’s video to join in on the fun. Usually when Lucky wants to spend time together, she invites me to groom, so this was an extra special treat. She loved being tickled with a durable spoon, and we drew a small crowd of chimps as the play session went on who wanted to join in on the fun…Gordo, Cy, and Terry all wanted to be involved at different points (and got some one-on-one time once Lucky and I were done!). I’d like to credit my original chimp friends from Chimp Haven (Agnes and Juan especially) for teaching me all the best chimp tickle spots. Lucky seemed to approve.

I thought I’d also provide a brief George update as I know he has many friends that are wishing him all the best. He is getting more and more comfortable in his new home and exploring his surroundings by the day! We have been thrilled to see him start nesting (to learn more about nesting and see it in action, see previous posts here and here), both with blankets and paper. We learned that he enjoys paper towels and uses them to wipe his hands and face, especially after his morning smoothie to take care of that pesky smoothie mustache.

It’s easy to see how George has captured the hearts of so many, he is such a sweet and gentle individual. We are enjoying getting to know him, and hope you all are enjoying getting to know us and the other 15 chimpanzees, 3 cows, and one very handsome barn cat (aptly named Barn Kitty – pictured below) who also call CSNW home! We are so happy to have you here!

Settling in with George

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In today’s blog video, see how George is starting to settle into life at CSNW!

I’ve been thinking a lot about George and all that awaits him. I am especially excited to see what he thinks of The Bray, which got me thinking about Willy B’s many (some recent!) milestones exploring The Bray. Here are a few more photos from his big adventure to the top of The Bray recently!

Marvelous Miss Mavis

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Some of the greatest joys of being a chimpanzee caregiver are all the little moments spent with the chimps each day… games of chase, tickles, grooming, kisses (safely, to the backs of our hands), breathy-panting, and getting to be downright silly with our chimpanzee friends every day. And we get paid to do it! In today’s blog video, join me for a surprise (to me) play session with Mave!

Mave is someone who does not often seek attention from me, and that’s okay! It is completely up to her who she wants to interact with and when, and oftentimes she prefers the company of her chimpanzee friends to the humans. So imagine my surprise when I arrived at the sanctuary one morning and there she was, breathy panting and head bobbing…at me! I looked around briefly to see if it was directed at someone else, before realizing my time had come. I dropped everything I was doing and accepted that we’d be running a little bit behind schedule that morning, because that’s what you do when Mave wants to play!

 

The Magic of Dora

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As J.B. discussed in a recent blog, Willy B, Mave, Dora, and Honey B are currently living together in a subgroup. We are and will continue to monitor the subgroups to determine what our path forward will look like, but for now I wanted to share some wins with you all!

As I’m sure you’ve noticed (and will see in today’s blog video), Honey B and Dora are keeping up with their rigorous play schedule. Mave joins in at times, but seems to prefer the quiet moments grooming with Dora. Willy B has been noticeably more playful with caregivers, engaging in more games of chase and his newfound love of being tickled with a long-handled spoon (Caregiver Krissy even got a play face from him while tickling him recently! Somewhat blurry proof included below)!

The other morning, as we were preparing for our team huddle to discuss the day, we heard chimp laughter. We all looked to the cameras and saw Willy B and Dora playing! We saw with our own eyes the magic of Dora. Willy B can play a little rough at times, and some of his playful slaps were getting to be too much. With some chimps, this would have easily escalated into a fight, but Dora kept giving him opportunities to alter his play style and be more gentle, then eventually screamed at him to let him know that was enough. The scream was brief, Willy B stopped what he had been doing, and just a few minutes later they were back to playing again. Dora seems to often bring out the best in those around her with her playful spirit and tolerance of weirdness. I’m glad to report that she is doing well in this current subgroup, and am grateful for her silly side and the patience she extends our oftentimes awkward friend, Willy B.

In the Company of Chimps

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Today’s blog is a collection of photos of silly and sweet moments with the chimps from the past week.

First up…can you guess who is the owner of these cute lips?!

Here’s your next hint, some very kind eyes… Answer incoming…it’s Cy! He was enjoying admiring his reflection in my phone camera. Now for a group shot…Cy in front, Lucky back left, and Rayne back right, relaxing and waiting patiently as we finished preparing their breakfast.

Agents of chaos and endless fun, Honey B and Dora, having yet another play session!

Lucky in a box!

Terry shows us his play face while being tickled by a caregiver. He is just the sweetest!

Upside down playful Terry!

Spring Rocks!

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Today we celebrated spring with the chimpanzees by having a party filled with novel items and foods they love. One of these novel items was a cardboard cutout of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, which we hoped Cy would enjoy as he is a fan of bald men (remember his love of Stanley Tucci?!). Well, there were mixed reviews. Today’s blog video is all about the ups and downs of “meeting” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson! We will share more about the rest of the party later, as there is simply too much good stuff to cover all in one day!