Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
I love to watch Jody nest. It’s such a science to get the blankets just right so that you feel safe and comfortable in your bed – and Jody is a master at getting comfortable!
Hopefully you have heard about our Team Chimp Fundraiser, but if not check out this link. Team Jody is in last place! Give her some love and join her team!
The other day I caught Burrito sitting by himself in the greenhouse with a pasta spoon in his mouth. He was just casually hanging out, minding his own business, and I snapped this photo:
Then he caught me taking pictures, and started being ridiculously cute:
No two souls can cheer me up quite like Annie and Missy. A couple of weeks ago, the BFFs were chasing each other around the hill, taking turns being the chaser and the chasee.
First Annie chased Missy
but she started to gain on her
as Annie passed, Missy playfully bit her shoulder
Then they played a little bit of peak-a-boo through the lexan panels of the cabin
Yesterday was volunteer Katelyn’s birthday and she decided to dedicate her day to spending time with the chimps. Being the amazing person that she is, she, instead of throwing a party for herself, threw a party for her seven chimp friends. She decided to pick up some mini pumpkins and fill them with all kinds of delicious fruits and veggies. They looked amazing!
We scattered the pumpkins both in the greenhouse and on Young’s Hill. Negra has learned a funny little trick when we do that – while everyone else is busy foraging on the hill, she collects all that she can in the greenhouse and basically gets her own forage. While she did go out on the hill a few times, she made the best profit with what was in the comfy greenhouse. But even the greenhouse was a little too chilly for Negra. She went around collecting as many as she could and made a stash in the front rooms. She would carry the pumpkin bowls in her mouth into the room, carefully set it down on the bench, and then head out for another. Smart lady!
Here she is in the front rooms with what is left of her stash:
After things settled down a bit, she was spotted sitting next to an empty pumpkin bowl, rubbing her tummy a bit, and then picking it up and diving in for more. She loves her pumpkin! Thanks so much, Katelyn!
Since her injury, it’s been all about Jody on the blog this last week. We like to mix things up for you as much as possible, but I snapped a few photos of her in and out of sleep in the front rooms this morning and I couldn’t resist sharing them. She has one of the prettiest faces I’ve ever seen.
Not only is Jamie one of the most intelligent people I know, she’s also one of the most intense. While she can occasionally be insecure about her position as the boss of the group, she can also come across as super tough and confident. And apparently she’s feeling pretty confident lately because I was looking through photos from the last week and couldn’t help but notice how hardcore she looks in almost every photo. She is one tough cookie!
but despite all that toughness, she also has a sweet side:
And speaking of tough chimps, for those of you wondering about Jody today, her toe is looking better and she seems to be feeling fine. It always amazes me how tough chimps are and how quickly they heal, even from pretty serious injuries. Just Wednesday, I cut myself on my hand and you would have thought there was a 6 year old in the chimp house! No actual tears were shed, but it was close. And then there’s Jody, who lost part of a toe just the day before, and she’s out exploring Young’s Hill like it’s no big deal. Hats off to hardcore, resilient chimps!
Earlier, Burrito was sitting at the door to Young’s Hill and appeared to be thinking about going out there but couldn’t seem to make up his mind. He and I started playing a little game of chase and tickle, but after a little while he walked into the greenhouse and sat next to Foxie. Foxie was laying on her back holding a string of troll dolls above her head. She waved them around a little bit and started playfully spinning on her back. Burrito was still quietly sitting beside her, pretending not to notice. Burrito is very shy and sometimes seems to not want you to know that he wants to hang out when I think he really does. Occasionally, he’ll approach someone (caregivers usually) and seemingly pretend to be doing something else like foraging for food, when in reality, I think he just wants to get a little closer so you will initiate a game of tickle or chase. Foxie must have been completely aware of what Burrito was doing, because she all of the sudden popped up and started poking and tickling Burrito. Pretty soon, they were wrestling and laughing uncontrollably.
Burrito is on the right, Foxie is on the left, poking Burrito’s side
He tried to steal Foxie’s string of troll dolls
but that didn’t last long
Look close at this next photo- Burrito is pinching Foxie’s ear.
