Honestly, today I don’t have a lot of words. The chimps were having a blast on Young’s Hill all day and baking in the warm Green House! The pictures really say it all.
Burrito with a mouth full of grass:
This guy:
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
by Kelsi
by Kelsi
I don’t know about you guys, but Easter morning in my house was the best! Scouring the inside and outside of the house for Easter eggs before your brother or sister got to them, looking through an Easter basket, and eating those eggs you worked so hard dyeing! So, this morning the first thing the chimps got to do was have an Easter egg hunt! A lot of work goes into our parties for the chimps. We at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest are lucky enough to have so many amazing volunteers. They are SO awesome that, as some of you might have seen on Facebook, one of our volunteers made the chimps’ Easter baskets by hand!
Our volunteers are a major reason why parties go so smoothly. They help prep days before and the day of, and help us clean the day after.
Volunteer Miranda hiding Easter eggs out on Young’s Hill:
Volunteer Alan planting carrots in the ground for the Easter forage:
Before the festivities could start we needed to give out some routine things like vitamins, smoothie, and meds. Volunteer Lizz also got to serve a tasty surprise for the chimps. The chimps got to have hard boiled eggs! The eggs came from staff caregiver Anna’s happy pet chickens . They don’t get them that often, but when they do, they love them!
It was really hard to decide what photos to choose for the blog today. There were so many good ones, I hope you all enjoy our Easter party!
Annie:
Burrito:
Foxie and her doll:
Missy:
Negra:
Jamie:
Searching for eggs:
But Jody really won this Easter egg hunt. She made out with a lot of loot and I never saw Jody without one of those baskets in her hands either!
by Kelsi
Jamie was in for quite a surprise today. A very kind friend sent Jamie a package of her favorite things. There was a folio and bag filled with pictures of boots, pictures of Jamie wearing boots, books of other primates, and a calendar of some oh so cute pit bulls! Jamie was satisfied all day! So satisfied that I have barely seen her. Like guys, she didn’t even ask for a walk today! On top of getting such a great package, Jamie also got to supervise activities going on in the new expansion area. Jamie had a really hard time choosing between lounging in her extravagant nest and enjoying her new gifts or observing what was going on in the other room! Watching the chimps get excited about their favorite things always warms my heart. Enrichment really does help these 7 chimpanzees’ lives. So thank you everyone for your support!
I mean doesn’t this just scream Jamie:
Jamie perusing the goods:
Jamie incorporating her favorite things of the day into her nest:
Time to relax:
A look at her amazing and intricate nest:
However, there were people unsupervised on the job so Jamie had to go back to work:
And one extra photo of Jody laying all sprawled out:
by Kelsi
The blanket ghost, mystery chimp, or the blanket bandit strikes again today! Missy, who we staff and volunteers thought for a slight moment was Negra, was caught playing an intense game of under the blanket wrestling, biting, and canoodling. What I cannot get over is the moment at the end of the video. Annie’s head in Missy’s lap. Little Miss was looking out the window while her best friend Annie rested her head. I mean my heart hurts just writing it! Let’s just say there were a lot of happy chimps today!
by Kelsi
Sweet Jamie resting on the barrel you may say, and you wouldn’t be wrong. Jamie was so exhausted from her morning activities. You may be wondering what Jamie was up to. That is a great question! Jamie was in a great mood today and though you might be in a great mood, sometimes you still have to pelt poop to keep order. While the front rooms were being cleaned by our amazing volunteers, Jamie also made sure they stayed in line. After 15 minutes of on and off poop throwing at our kind and patient volunteers, Jamie was so tired. She found a comfortable spot on a barrel and stared at the new expansion through the caging. The chimps are so curious of the new area, they can’t get enough of it. Jamie and others often ask for games of chase from the new area to the playroom, meaning the caregiver runs from the Playroom, through the kitchen, down the hallway, into the new area, and than back! Of course not right then because she had already over exerted herself.
Jamie being irresistible on a barrel in the Playroom:
I went around to the other side to get another perspective of Jamie, she looks almost angelic:
Later, once cleaning was done and Jamie had rested we all went on a walk/sprint (A LOT) with Jamie on this beautiful day outside:
by Kelsi
Did you guys ever have rainy day recess? That is what today felt like, except the chimps did have access to outside. Some people like Jamie went on a few walks (or sprints with the Gator) but in general the chimps kind of all decided to spend most of their day at the top of the platform in the Greenhouse or playing in the Playroom. Today, I got a few special moments caught on camera. My favorite is Jamie wearing a troll scarf and reading a magazine with boots in it. As Jamie is flipping through her magazine Jody approaches her. Jody has a loose bottom lip and is a little pilo. Jody looks longingly into Jamie’s eyes. Jody reaches out to groom and hesitantly Jamie accepts the offer and they groom for about 10 minutes. After, Jody comes over to us caregivers for some reassurance and then climbs up the Playroom caging to nest. Jamie casually goes back to flipping her magazine like nothing ever happened.
Here are a few extra photos I got today!
Burrito with one of his favorite toys:
Foxie was very excited about playing troll toss, which was what happened immediately after these photos:
Foxie later took a nap on the floor but she had no use for blankets:
by Kelsi
Today we had a tea party. Everyday there is a different themed enrichment day just to make sure we are shaking things up! As you can see on our March daytime enrichment calendar there is always something new or fun going on. For really popular themes we might do them more than once because the chimps really enjoy it!
Though the party was for everyone to enjoy, Jamie thought it was her tea party. As you can see Missy came to join Jamie and Jamie discretely pulled the tea party away:
Burrito foraged for tea, lettuce, and big nuts:
We stuck a few nuts in the window for an added challenge for Jamie:
The sun came out and the chimps spent some time in the Greenhouse!
This photo is blurry, but you can see Missy and Burrito wrestling on the top platform in the Green House:
Later, I found Annie and Missy napping and grooming:
In the afternoon it was pretty quiet in the Chimp House. So, I went to check on the chimps. I found Jamie laying in a nest incorporated with boots and a big barrel. She was cleaning a troll toy and enjoying some peace and quiet so I snapped a photo and quickly left.
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509-699-0728
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