Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
The other day I found Jamie in this magnificent nest, with a bag of chow. As you will see in the video, Jamie seemed so content and a little silly. She was making me laugh because she would roll up the bag of chow and then put it in her pelvic pocket while she made these happy little grunts. She was comfortable in her nest so I brought her a new bonobo book, because nothing is better than cozying up to a new book!
Spring in this area is beautiful, especially with all the wildflowers in bloom, but with spring comes the often unrelenting wind. Today was one of those days where it was so windy no one wanted to go outside. However, Saturday was perfect. So perfect, that Negra marched right outside and climbed up on a platform. After a while she came down to do one of her favorite things in spring, eat grass.
This isn’t a perfect picture, but it is our photo evidence that Negra did in fact climb up this platform:
Negra, enjoying one of her favorite things on a nice day!
And my favorite photo:
Willy B can be a really silly guy! For those who may not know, he is known for his two-step. Willy B really seems to enjoy when we stomp to a beat. I used to be a cheerleader a long long time ago, so I starting doing some of my cheer stomps for him, which he seems to like a lot. I’m assuming he does at least, because he will find me to start a game of chase. Willy’s chase also has a lot of stomping. Willy B doesn’t always need a beat to play to, but he does seem to respond well to it. In this video, you can even catch him stomping to his own beat! Boxes also make Willy B downright silly. He has been on a real box kick recently! As you will see in the video, Willy thinks it’s really funny to put a box on his head and shake it around.
Don’t forget today is the last day for GiveBIG!
One of the best parts about this job is watching the chimps spend quality time with each other. A few days ago, I was walking past Dora and Mave grooming and they barely noticed I was filming because they were so engrossed with each other. Watching interactions like this is always a reminder to slow down and savor the time we have with the ones we care about. Click here to watch Mave and Dora groom!
It’s Wednesday so obviously there are bonus photos!
Cy:
Terry:
I wanted to share some photos of Jo, because I am always thinking about her, but especially today. She is always and forever in our hearts.
Today is the infamous Love a Chimp Day! In addition to Tobin’s lovely sponsor-a-day for this special Love a Chimpanzee celebration, of course the founder of the day herself, Monica Best, also sponsored today. How incredible is it that Monica has been helping us all celebrate our love of chimpanzees for 16 years! She is also the donor of all of the squishmallows that were part of today’s celebration. Thank you so much to Monica for your incredible and ongoing support and generosity!!
This years menu was: pasta, virgin pina coldas, ice treats, lettuce, and young coconuts! The chimps house was noisy from all the food grunts and squeaks! Click here to watch all the fun!
Happy Love a Chimp Day!
As I went to let Jamie’s group outside this morning, I noticed Negra was waiting by the door in anticipation of being the first one out. I always know its going to be a good day if Negra wants to be the first chimp out onto Young’s Hill. It’s cheesy, but the song, A Beautiful Morning by The Rascals, popped into my head. It seemed pretty fitting for such a lovely morning to be watching all the chimps go out and enjoy this beautiful spring morning. On the other side of the building, Honey B and Dora were up to their normal antics of laughing, playing, and relishing in each others company! Click here for the video.
I thought I would share a crazy story with you all. This is something I had not seen before, however it’s never a dull day here and something is always happening! One morning near the end of February, caregiver Sabrina calls me on the radio to come up the ladder in Greenhouse 2. I was curious why she was so insistent that she needed me to come up there with her. When I stood up there with her, she asked me if the window that is shared with Playroom 2 had looked “like that” since the last time we had worked on that side of the building, perhaps we had missed a message in the work group chat but we had not, this was new! The window was shattered from the inside, luckily not the entire window (see below and in video). The windows we have are bullet proof, they are very sturdy and secure, to quote J.B. in our group chat “It’s a mix of poly-carbonate and glass so the poly is still good and the window should be perfectly safe, but obviously we’ll replace it”. Later, we scoured the security camera footage to find out what happen. Some theories thrown out, but my favorite and by far the most logical was from caregiver Sabrina. Her theory was that Willy B did it with his mind. As you will see in the video, it happens in the middle of the night with a loud popping sound. The chimps weren’t displaying or hitting it, “everyone” was sound asleep.
However, these windows are extremely expensive. So in the meantime JB had Gary and his crew come out to replace a lower window for the broken on and swap in mesh caging for the other. The best part about having Gary and his crew come out is that Honey B got to see her old pals. Honey B enjoyed being apart of the consulting crew and I don’t think anyone would find it surprising that she might have a differing opinion or too. She is a tough boss, but one of the best in her field!
Click here for the video!
Playroom 2 window:
Lower playroom window replaced with mesh, Cy approves:
Honey B managing her crew on-site:
Bonus of Dora!
