Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Jackie

How well do you know the seven?

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Today’s enrichment theme was “pre-made nests”, meaning the caregivers built nests based on the things each of the chimps typically incorporate into their nests, including the items in the nest, types of blankets, blanket placement and nest location. It was a lot of fun to set up! While the chimps love to build their own nests, it’s fun to mix things up a little bit every once in a while and do something kooky. All of the chimps went to their “correct” nest, which was very satisfying to us goofy humans! I would love to give you all the details, but we thought it might be fun to see how well YOU know the chimps instead. Can you guess who’s nest is who’s? While some are trickier to guess than others, there is a solid hint in each photo.

pre-made nest

pre-made nest

pre-made nest

pre-made nest

pre-made nest

pre-made nest

pre-made nest

Chimps and snow and decisions

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Even though the chimps have had access to it, it’s been too cold and windy to spend much time out on Young’s Hill lately. But they definitely love having the option! I love that even though we put snow in the playroom and greenhouse almost daily, the chimps sometimes see it as worth it to brave the cold to enjoy a snack on the hill. The other day, the large tub in the greenhouse was filled with snow so that the chimps didn’t have to go out to get it if they didn’t want to, but that didn’t keep everyone inside!

Annie on the hill:
web crop Annie sit under platform YH snow IMG_2388

Missy:
web crop Missy eat snow log bridge YH IMG_2375

But I guess Foxie and Jamie saw it as more appealing to keep their feet dry and enjoy their snack in the greenhouse.

Foxie in the greenhouse:
web Foxie eat snow GH IMG_2405

Jamie:
web Jamie eat snow GH IMG_2392

Keeping your friends company

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One of my favorite things about the Cle Elum Seven is how almost everyone is really good friends. We tend to focus on BFF’s Annie and Missy a lot because they are pretty much inseparable, but there are lots of other people that seem to be pretty close, based on the amount of time they play with one another, groom, or have other interactions. If I had to guess based on my observations, I would say (aside from the Annie/Missy duo), Missy is good friends with Negra, Foxie and Burrito; Burrito is good friends with Foxie, Negra, and Missy; Negra is good friends with Foxie, Missy, and Burrito; Jamie is good friends with Foxie; and Jody is good friends with Foxie and Negra (I’ve seen a lot of play between Negra and Jody lately!). Annie’s world still revolves around Missy, but she does occasionally play with Foxie and Negra, so I think she would probably call them good friends too. If you haven’t noticed, Ms. Foxie is a popular lady!

Today I caught Foxie being super goofy all by herself (which is really not all that uncommon) but it wasn’t long before someone had to join in.

Floppy ears

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I just happened to notice that Burrito has 996 “likes” on Facebook! Let’s get him to over 1000! It shouldn’t be hard with an adorable video like the one below. “Like” or share this blog post with your Facebook friends and suggest they “like” Mr. B, if for no other reason, because his ears wiggle when he chews, and who can resist that?

Deep snow

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You may have noticed a lack of Young’s Hill photos and videos over the last month or so. That’s because when the snow gets so deep, it reduces the voltage of the electric fence, making it unsafe to allow the chimpanzees out there. Well, yesterday, J.B., Sarah and I (mostly J.B.) all went out and shoveled around the entire perimeter of the fence (who needs a gym membership?), freeing up those bottom wires covered in snow so that the voltage was sufficient to let the chimps back out! It was very hard work, but the chimps were so excited that it was well worth it! There were lots of hugs and kisses in the chimp house (between the chimps 😉 ) and breathy pants echoed in the greenhouse. Sometimes our job isn’t glamorous but it is certainly rewarding, especially when you see a face like the one below (Jody’s).

Jody was the first one to go back out. She was food grunting (we had lettuce out there, plus look at all that snow!) and had a huge playface!
web Jody playface dropped lip happy first day back on YH after snow IMG_2195

Annie used Jody’s head for support as she passed her on the log bridge. Jody didn’t seem to mind.
web Jody playface dropped lip happy first day back on YH after snow Annie arm on head pass on log bridge IMG_2196

Look at the joy in her eyes!
web Jody playface dropped lip happy first day back on YH after snow IMG_2197

The snow was really deep, so J.B. and Diana shoveled paths along the log bridge to the first climbing structure and to Negra’s cabin. Most folks just walked along the paths, but Missy chose to walk on the fire hose.
web Missy walk on fire hose log bridge snow YH IMG_2204

web Missy walk on fire hose look back snow log bridge YH IMG_2203

From left to right, Jamie, Missy, Annie and Jody, enjoying the lettuce forage on top of the first climbing structure.
web Jamie Missy Annie Jody sit on climbing structure eat lettuce forage snow YH IMG_2211

Did I mention the snow was (is) deep? Foxie walked along the paths but she looked so tiny from our vantage point (tinier than she already is, even!).
web Foxie walk through deep snow shoveled path YH IMG_2212

Annie figured walking bipedally made more sense. Gotta say, I agree!
web Annie walk through deep snow bipedal mouthful snow YH IMG_2213

While everyone else foraged for lettuce, Annie climbed up to the top of Negra’s cabin a couple of times.
web Annie sit on top of negra's cabin snow YH IMG_2217

And Missy discovered a TON of lettuce Sarah put in the cabin!
web Missy handful lettuce forage negra's cabin follow annie deep snow YH IMG_2223

I think she was pretty pleased!
web Missy handful of lettuce almost smile walk through deep snow forage YH IMG_2224

web Missy handful lettuce walk on log snow YH IMG_2226

All of the chimps went out at some point, though Negra didn’t leave the comfort of the raceway (and only so she could grab some lettuce and snow) and Burrito was only out for a couple of minutes (also just to grab a little bit of lettuce and snow) and didn’t venture out very far, but everyone seemed very happy to have the option of the hill back! And that’s what sanctuary is all about.

Annie following Missy back to the greenhouse:
web Annie walk along log bridge snow YH IMG_2231

snow, snow, and more snow

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It’s a good thing the Cle Elum Seven like to eat snow so much, because we’ve got a lot of it!

We’ve been putting snow in the kiddie pool and other large tubs and containers on a pretty regular basis, and it keeps the chimps happy for hours. Today, I walked into the chimp area and found that Missy had grabbed a large handful and taken it upstairs to enjoy by the window.

web Missy eat snow window PR IMG_2075

web Missy eat snow window PR IMG_2074

She may have been sitting in the sunshine, but with eating all that snow she was obviously still cold. She was shivering quite a bit and used this washcloth to dry her hands off.
web Missy eat snow wipe hands with washcloth window PR IMG_2071

web Missy eat snow profile PR IMG_2076

Jody was laying next to her in her nest. You can’t tell but she had a mouthful herself.
web Jody eat snow lay in nest window PR IMG_2081

Later, Missy went to enjoy some snow with her best friend Annie
web Missy Annie eat snow bridge PR IMG_2079

and while she was gone, Negra had taken over Missy’s pile of snow

web Negra eat snow profile PR IMG_2090

it wasn’t long before Missy joined her
web Negra eat snow profile missy in background PR IMG_2086

Jamie’s artistic side

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About a month ago we updated our Amazon wishlist and added bright colored pens for Jamie. Several people have sent some (thanks so much!!) and she has been so excited about them!! The other day, she was asking for a pen and I went and got her a couple of the colored ones and a canvas. She was literally jumping up and down when she saw what I had for her and drew a pretty elaborate drawing (albeit on the back of the canvas 🙂 ) She’s not always interested in drawing, though when she is, she’s very meticulous about it. Everything has to be in the right place – not just the lines she draws, but the paper and pens, as well.

Here’s a piece we recovered from the Playroom the other day. Like in the story above, I brought her a piece of canvas to draw on but she found what she thought was a much better medium for her masterpiece. It was a sign I had put on the enrichment to remind the morning crew to put all the troll dolls in piles.

web Jamie art trolls in piles pr IMG_1981

Thanks so much to all who have re-inspired Jamie’s artistic side!