Katelyn

Nests du jour

January 25, 2021 by Katelyn

Our day started off as it does most winter mornings, by firing up the heater for the greenhouse and then heading off around Young’s Hill to check the security of the perimeter before giving the chimpanzees access to their outdoor, snow-covered habitat. Just as I was going outside, Foxie ran over to send Strawberry Shortcake with me. I guess she figured if I was going on an adventure, I better have the same backup she does. (Don’t worry, Strawberry Shortcake, my hair pretty much looks the same in the morning).

I’m not sure it got above freezing today, but if it did it was a fleeting moment. The sun is already on it’s downward slope for the So while the chimpanzees always have the choice to go outside, they’ve all been content to play chase, huddle together in grooming piles and if you’re Willy B, grab his favorite leopard print blanket and settle in to watch his “stories.” Today he’s enjoying Ice Age again. Another favorite. As you can see, he’s riveted:

Willy B LOVES this blanket!! I’ve never seen any of the chimpanzees take such a liking to a specific blanket as he’s done with this one (though I can say they all really love the huge wolf blankets we received for Christmas – thank you!). We were just saying that it’s been about a year since he was gifted this by one of our lovely volunteers and it’s still his favorite! And thankfully, by some miracle, has avoided the clutches of Miss Jody, the blanket shredding machine.

I think Burrito is the only one who made a brief foray onto the Hill in a hopeful game of chase with Chad, but he quickly high-tailed it back inside:

As you can probably tell, it’s another day of challenging photo opportunities. Next to the chimp house computer is the display of all the views from the chimp house cameras we use to monitor and care for the chimpanzees. It might give you an idea of why it’s often such a challenge on such days to get good photos of the chimps.

Top left, are the front rooms and loft of the playroom in the original building. You can see a big pile of nests and chimps up in the super toasty loft, napping and grooming.

Top middle, that one blanket pile upstairs on the right, in the sunny window? If you’re guessing Negra, you’d be correct. That’s her spot! (See photos below). This is also the camera where we will often see boss Jamie’s face pop up, or Burrito swinging back and forth on the firehose as he peers into the kitchen, because they can see just through the kitchen door into the foyer where we sit to write the blog so it’s one way of many to get our attention if they need anything.

Top right, is the greenhouse where the chimpanzees spend a lot of time, even in winter, but it’s just cold enough today that they are preferring to be inside, so no one is out there right now.

Bottom left, is the mezzanine in Phase 1 and that dark pile in the lower left corner is made up of Willy B and Mave who are enjoying a quiet grooming session with one another.

Bottom middle, are the front rooms in Phase 1 and you can just make out Honey B in the middle room, climbing the rung ladder which leads to the mezzanine. Honey B has the zooms and keeps racing to all the windows upstairs and downstairs, seemingly hoping someone is on the other side to play chase with. I do think Honey is missing all the activity and required supervision of the construction workers now that things have slowed down a bit! But no worries, Anthony just raced over to surprise her and I can see her zooming back and forth, up and down.

Bottom right, our driveway and the entrance to the chimp house. The sun is just peeking out, but it’s already on it’s downward slope and it’s going to be a cold one tonight.

Now I suspect this is going to spur some understandable questions and hopes about “chimp cams” for you all to be able to watch the chimps when you like. I know J.B. has addressed this in the past in better detail than I could provide, but between cameras being a really tricky thing to safely place near chimpanzees, as you might imagine, and the challenges rural internet sometimes presents just for our day to day needs, it’s just not something we can do any time soon. As you can see, even for us the cameras we use to monitor the chimps offer views through caging so you really have to know what to look for!

Well, Jamie’s face was just in that middle camera peering in to let us know it’s dinner time! All ten chimpanzees are hooting and hollering and raising a pre-dinner ruckus you wouldn’t believe, so that’s our cue to get moving with dinner service! Oh! I almost forgot! Here is Negra’s stylish nest du jour:

Thank you, Don!

January 23, 2021 by Katelyn

Dear friend of all the primates here, Donna Hughes, sponsored this special day of sanctuary:

“In honor of the entire staff at CSNW. Today is the second year I have had to celebrate my birthday without my twin sister, Doreen. Instead of spending the bittersweet day in grief, I know that Doreen would agree completely that this birthday should honor the hard working staff at CSNW. They all work so hard, each and every day, to help make the chimps life so complete. So today, we would honor all of you; Diana, you are such a hard worker, and always a pleasure to speak with; JB, without you, Young’s Hill wouldn’t exist; to the caregivers: Kelsi, Chad, Anna, Anthony – all the hard work you guys put in …I just want you to know how much all of us appreciate the blogs you write – so informative, so witty…the photographs that you share with us …so appreciated …Doreen and I were lucky enough to visit once ..and just walking around Young’s Hill was a pleasure to see all that you have accomplished – but even for those who have never had the fortune to visit – the blogs and photographs make us feel like we are all right there. Dr. Erin, who does so much for the chimps’ health, thank you. A special thank you to Katelyn, whose time and friendship has meant so much to me. Doreen and I got involved when it was the Cle Elum Seven. I am so glad that they have been joined by three more lucky chimps and of course, the cattle! I cannot imagine how difficult 2020 was for the staff – but there they were, doing what they always have done – caring for these remarkable beings. I look forward to 2021 and wish to honor you all on this day, my birthday. Doreen would approve entirely! Thank you for all of your hard work, devotion, sharing the lives of those you care for, with us. The blogs teach us so much, the photographs are superb. Thank you all, and I hope that 2021 will bring even more remarkable days at CSNW. Your Friend, Don”

Don, we are so touched by your gracious gift. Thank you so much for your heartfelt kindness. You and Dor are always in our hearts and minds here, and we’re so grateful for your support, friendship and the light you bring to all beings who are so fortunate to have the gift of knowing you. Both of you.

Happy Birthday from all your primate and bovine friends here, Don! While we know this special day may be bittersweet in part, we hope it’s also as magical and wonderful as you and Dor.

Your long-time Chimpanzee Pal, Foxie!

A happy visit remembered with Don and Dor (Missy, Foxie and Negra, background). We’ve shared this wonderful photo before (thanks to Don’s approval)…it’s just such a good one and always makes me smile. 🙂

This joyful, beloved photo of Annie and Burrito!

Foxie and the Orange Blossom twins:

Betsy and her son, Nutmeg:

Jamie and Foxie:

Honey and her daughter, Meredith:

Winterspring

January 18, 2021 by Katelyn

I believe we are past the days when we knew what to expect with each season. Rumor was we had a rough winter ahead of us here and while snow and cold temperatures made an earlier than we’ve been used to appearance, here we are in mid-January with what feels like early spring days! Now there’s still plenty of time to get a couple good blasts of winter. But today…the bluest of skies, the brightest of suns, was nothing short of wondrous for us all.

The seven began their day with breakfast in a warmed up greenhouse and Jody was particularly enamored with her grapefruit:

After breakfast the seven were anxious to take in the morning sun on Young’s Hill. It was still pretty chilly so most just poked their heads out and quickly turned back toward the greenhouse after a minute. You could see Foxie’s breath, but that didn’t stop her from sitting on her own and taking in this stunner of a morning:

When it warmed up later in the afternoon, Foxie decided it was time for an adventure and we headed off around the hill with the river, a silver ribbon of sunlight below:

She was taking this adventure very seriously, as she does:

Once we reached the top of the hill, some of the other chimpanzees realized what she was doing and even Jamie raced to catch up:

When Jamie, Annie and Missy caught up to us, Foxie decided to keep her adventure solo and took a brief detour to climb up Jamie’s Tower:

It wasn’t long before she was on her way again:

Missy raced with me across the top of the hill (with Foxie in the background):

Then decided to zoom over to meet Foxie:

Annie stopped to take in the incredible view and slowly made her way to bring up the rear:

On the other side, Mave (L) and Willy B (R) were beside themselves to be enjoying the warm day from the top of their chute, sprawled out next to one another, faces pressed toward the sun, where they stayed until dinner:

Miss Honey B sitting in her cozy nest at the bottom of the chute:

We usually close off the chute during dinner this time of year, but Mave, Willy B and Honey B weren’t ready for that and quickly took some of their dinner and raced back outside. Who could blame them? I can tell you the chimpanzees, humans and cattle alike, wanted to soak in every glorious second of this beautiful and much needed day of light and ease. It was a wondrous day. We hope yours was as well.

Happy Birthday, Marie!

January 17, 2021 by Katelyn

Many thanks to Stephanie Bell for sponsoring such a lovely day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees in celebration of Marie Spearman’s birthday!!

“She has been a guiding light of compassion in my life (and in the lives of many others). So grateful for the light she shines and can’t think of a better way of honoring her since CSNW does so much light shining too.”

Happy Birthday, Marie! We all hope you have a beautiful day!

Mave:

Foxie:

Burrito:

Negra:

A blog about nothing, with a tiny bit of mystery.

January 11, 2021 by Katelyn

Chad and I had just said goodnight to the chimpanzees and turned their lights out when I told him, “All these poor people are going to wait so long for a blog post about nothing!” And yep, here you are, and here’s me with nothing much to share. It was just one of those days. Cleaning ran smooth so I was able to spend quite a bit of time with the chimpanzees and take quite a few photos. Did any turn out? Nope!

Of course, all kinds of things contributed to that. Honey B was front and center, but all her photos turned out as a blur (because she’s busy!). Willy B had to approve all photos taken of himself by insisting the camera was in selfie mode. And Mave was just lying around looking cute, but the second I even thought about bringing out the camera, Willy B seemed to use some kind of psychic chimp ability to appear before I even had the camera raised. And I’m going to be honest here – I swear the chimpanzees know exactly what they’re doing when they do this. I cannot tell you the times someone is looking cute and I ask to take a photo and they say, “Sure, go ahead” and then just as I snap the photo they do something that no one wants a photo of, like picking their nose. I’m not kidding. I admit, it’s a good paparazzi deterrent.

As for the seven, being that it was a dark, foggy day – the perfect kind to stay in your cozy nest and nap, read or just lie around with friends – that is exactly what they did. They did spend quite a bit of time outside (remember, they’re Pacific Northwest Mountain Chimpanzees). At one point while we were cleaning Chad and I looked out of the windows and couldn’t even see the fence around the hill. Mere moments later, the chimps were coming back inside so it didn’t deter them much. But once inside, they were quick to head upstairs and get comfortable. So photo opportunities were non-existent on that side.

Willy B and I spent a lot of time checking out how things are going with the addition to their home. It’s really amazing! This is upstairs and Willy B looks like such a tiny guy back there, looking out the mezzanine window. We are all so excited for them to have so much new space to explore!

Willy B seemed to be waiting for one meal after the next, all day long. Chad and I wondered if the dark day put dinner on his mind, haha, and here he is enjoying his second ear of corn for the evening.

I guess about the most exciting thing to happen all day was smack in the middle of everyone snoozing after lunch (except Burrito who was taking Chad on a loopity loop of the hill), Honey B let out a screech. This woke everyone up and I figured she was just yelling at the neighbors, but her screaming was quickly echoed by Mave and Willy B and then they began to alarm call. The second I walked into Phase 1 to see what was happening, poor Honey B ran to me screaming and asking for reassurance, while Mave and Willy B had gotten as high off the ground as they could get, looking confused, but nonetheless believing Honey B when she said something terrible was outside, near their chute.

Honey B seemed to suddenly remember her nest was out there and I guess she figured it needed rescuing because she bravely raced to the doorway, reached out, alarm calling the entire time, and dragged it inside where she wrapped herself up in the corner. Every few minutes, she’d stick her head out of the door flaps to alarm call before running back to the security of her nest. Normally, I would think “snake” and Honey B’s not a fan, but it’s winter, everyone is tucked into their winter beds for the season. Chad and I looked high and low and couldn’t find whatever, or whomever, it was that had frightened her so. She continued to stick her head out of the door and alarm call once in awhile as we searched the area, but eventually she believed us when we told her she was safe and settled down.

Even the seven had been frightened by the ruckus and asked for reassurance when I went to check on them. A haint on the hill? A foggy apparition? A strange noise? It’s a mystery. But if that’s the most alarming thing to happen all day, we’ll gladly take it!

I will say I heard loud and clear as day, a woman laughing behind me in the chimp house the other day while I was playing with Jamie, who was being super silly. I had no idea who it was because Chad and Anthony and I were the only humans in the chimp house and they were both in another area (and as far as I’ve heard don’t sound like girls when they laugh). I figured even though it didn’t sound like her, Diana must have popped up to visit. Jamie was trying to see over my head and I turned around to say hello to whomever was laughing at Jamie’s antics, and that’s right…no one was there. 😉