Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Kelsi

Bubba’s Bouncy Ball!

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Enriching chimpanzees is hard work. We have particular guidelines to ensure that the chimps will not consume something unsafe and that the item of enrichment cannot harm them. Sometimes, we think an enrichment item will be so perfect, only for it to arrive and realize it was made of a material the chimps can’t have. Caregiver Chad did a lot of research on the Jolly Ball that we wanted to give to Burrito on his birthday, but when it arrived it was leaning towards a little to soft of plastic to give to the chimps. However, this morning we were discussing how we knew he would love it soooo much! We decided that we could keep a close eye on the Jolly ball and that if it was destroyed we could remove it. When we showed Burrito his belated birthday present his eyes lit up! Once their group was invited back into their freshly cleaned Playroom, Burrito immediately grabbed it. He was beaming with joy. I think you will all be pleased to know that the ball is still alive and well!

This is a screen grab from the video. I know the quality of the photo might not be great, but it might be the best part of the whole video!

Burrito Photo Contest!

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Can you believe Burrito is about to turn 41 years young on January 6th? Sometimes I forget because it feels like his energy is never-ending. Every day we are so grateful for Burrito’s presence. He brings such a light to our lives with his easy-going, fun-loving personality. Life with Burrito is always full of laughter and joy. In celebration of Burrito’s 41st birthday we will be having a photo contest to have you all pick your favorite photo of Burrito, we will then be selling the photo with the most votes. I know we all want a photo of Burrito in our homes! We will post the contest every day on the blog, so you can vote once per day and you are welcome to vote for more than one photo! The contest ends on January 8th at 6:00 p.m. PT.

Bonus!

Not everything got delivered in time for Chimpmas. Jamie got to open her new boots today and was soooo happy! I mean look at them, who wouldn’t be:

She built a giant nest for her and her boots to nap in and seemed very content the rest of the day:

Burrito spying on the neighbors at lunch:

There were a few extra photos of Rayne and Cy from Saturday:

Don’t forget to vote!

Post Party Blues

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Today was pretty low key. The chimps seemed to be recovering from all the festivities, I think we can all relate to that! Please enjoy a few photos of the chimps having a nice lazy day.

Jamie on the barrel:

Jamie holding Foxie’s doll and her bonobo book:

Honey B eating Brussels Sprouts:

Lucky:

Rayne soooo sleepy in a nest:

Cy:

Gordo grooming Terry (Cy and Mave grooming in the background)

Gordo is so handsome:

Dora the Distractor

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Yesterday, Mave and Gordo were having a very sweet grooming session, but as Mave’s BFF, Dora was obviously not far. I found myself having a hard time capturing the moment between Mave and Gordo because a delightful little chimp (Dora) with sweet, big eyes kept distracting me and causing me to put the camera back to her, but I mean, can you blame me? If you were not already in love with Dora, I think this video will help.

We would like to give a very special thank you to Marjorie C. for purchasing Naomi the Narwhal Squishmallow for the chimps!

Oh! Before you go, a few bonus photos!

Sweet, sweet Terry:

Rayne enjoying one of her sheets! She looks a lot like her sister Tatu in the photo:

Life of Enrichment and Giant Stuffed Dolphin Thanks!

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It felt fitting to have today’s blog be about enrichment! There are so many different ways to enrich the chimps lives! The video highlights a few of the many ways to add to the chimps day to day life. Thank you to Comfort & Joy auction winner Emily H. for the giant stuffed dolphin for Jamie’s group! We put it out on on Jamie’s side this morning!

Theme of the Day

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The theme of the day: a little bit of play and a WHOLE lot of grooming! Since the weather wasn’t very nice out (mostly rain), what better way to spend the day than grooming and playing with your friends? It was fun to see all the different pairings branching off to groom today. This afternoon, I found Cy and Gordo grooming, which is not a common occurrence in comparison to Cy and Willy B, or Cy and Terry.

Bonus photos!

Rayne:

Terry series:

Gordo series:

 

 

Honey B & Co.

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It is so fun to watch a chimp like Honey B, who has always preferred human interactions, to seek her chimp friends out instead. Watching Honey B and Dora both flourish socially in their group has been one of the most rewarding parts of my job, as well as witnessing Mave find her soulmate, Dora. Please enjoy this video of Honey B, Dora, and of course, Mave!

Chimpmas is right around the corner! We have started to add enrichment and items that we need around the chimp house on our wish-list!

Mora:

The beautiful Rayne: